If the CBA requires reinstatement, the seniority exception is unavailable
Reinstatement. The exception in article 49, section I, of the Federal Labor Law does not apply to the Autonomous University of Nayarit, because under clause 21 of its collective bargaining agreement it undertook to reinstate without conditioning that duty on the worker's seniority.
Official heading (Spanish): REINSTALACIÓN. LA EXCEPCIÓN PREVISTA EN EL ARTÍCULO 49, FRACCIÓN I, DE LA LEY FEDERAL DEL TRABAJO NO RESULTA APLICABLE A LA UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE NAYARIT, PORQUE CONFORME A LA CLÁUSULA 21 DE SU CONTRATO COLECTIVO DE TRABAJO ASUMIÓ LA OBLIGACIÓN DE REINSTALAR SIN CONDICIONARLA A LA ANTIGÜEDAD DE LA PERSONA TRABAJADORA.
The ruling
Collegiate Circuit Courts disagreed on whether the Autonomous University of Nayarit could refuse to reinstate workers with under one year of service under article 49, section I, of the Federal Labor Law, even though clause 21 of its collective bargaining agreement requires reinstatement without exceptions. The Regional Plenary Court held that the statutory exception does not apply when the employer contractually assumed a stand-alone duty to reinstate.
Our take
Although the case involves a university, it matters to any company with a collective bargaining agreement. Clauses that improve on the statute are read strictly: if the employer agreed to reinstate without a seniority condition or a reserved right to pay severance instead, it loses the statutory exception. Many job-security clauses were negotiated decades ago and nobody has reread them. We recommend reviewing them before the next contract renegotiation, because broad wording can strip defenses the Federal Labor Law provides. If the company wants to keep the option to pay severance instead of reinstating, it must say so expressly.
What to do
- Review reinstatement clauses in the current CBA and how they interact with article 49.
- In the next renegotiation, expressly reserve the statutory exceptions to reinstatement.
- Factor these clauses into contingency estimates for dismissals of unionized staff.
Details
- Court
- Regional Plenary Courts
- Type
- Binding precedent (jurisprudencia)
- Identifier
- PR.P.T.CN. J/15 L (12a.)
- Digital registry
- 2032675
- Published
- September 25, 2026
- Area
- Labor and social security
- View official source ↗
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Prepared by Artegia for information only; not legal advice. Headings in English are unofficial translations. The official text is the one published in the Semanario Judicial de la Federación or the TFJA journal.