Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FGR) is investigating six labor rulings that ordered the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE) to pay more than 1.23 billion pesos to 880 former public servants, primarily former officers of the dissolved Federal Police and the former Federal Public Security Secretariat. According to the investigation, the claimants were seeking compensation to which they were no longer legally entitled.
According to information published by Reforma, both the ISSSTE and the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board (JFCA) challenged the rulings, alleging irregularities in the proceedings. The payments were never made because enforcement was halted after the alleged irregularities were detected.
The lawsuits were filed in 2021 before the former Special Board No. 42 of the JFCA in Torreón, Coahuila. The former employees claimed a benefit established under the previous ISSSTE law, even though investigators say they were subject to the legislation that has been in effect since April 2007.
The investigation is focused on determining how the lawsuits were accepted, why a labor board located in Torreón handled cases involving workers from multiple states, and how compensation awards totaling more than 1.23 billion pesos were calculated.
What Compensation Did the 880 Former Public Servants Claim?
The former officers requested payment of the global indemnity, a benefit equal to 45 days of the employee’s final base salary.
This compensation had been available to former public servants who were not entitled to a retirement pension. However, the benefit was eliminated when the new ISSSTE Law took effect in April 2007.
According to the investigation cited by Reforma, the claimants faced two key issues:
- They were no longer eligible for the global indemnity under the law applicable to them.
- They already had individual retirement accounts (Afores) under Mexico’s retirement savings system.
Despite this, the former employees filed their claims in 2021 based on the previous version of the ISSSTE Law.
Investigators are now trying to determine why those legal arguments were accepted and ultimately resulted in favorable rulings for hundreds of former public servants.
Why Is the FGR Investigating the Lawsuits?
The complaints identify several irregularities in the way the cases were filed and processed.
One complaint cited in the investigation states:
“The lawsuits are vague and irregular because they do not specify the exact date the workers began their employment, making it impossible to determine the claimant’s actual length of service.”
The employment start date was significant because it would establish each claimant’s seniority and help verify the basis for calculating the compensation sought.
Among the alleged irregularities are:
- The lawsuits did not specify the exact employment start dates.
- The claimants failed to indicate their base salaries.
- The labor board allegedly continued processing the cases despite these omissions.
- The cases involved workers from multiple states across Mexico.
- Questions have been raised about whether Special Board No. 42 in Torreón had territorial jurisdiction to hear the cases.
According to the investigation, labor authorities should have identified the missing salary information and given the claimants three days to correct the deficiency.
Instead, the complaints allege that the cases proceeded even though those defects were never remedied.
Why Is Torreón’s Jurisdiction Being Questioned?
Another major issue under review is whether Special Board No. 42 had territorial jurisdiction over the cases.
The lawsuits were filed in Torreón, even though the former public servants involved were located in various states throughout the country.
According to the complaints, this jurisdictional issue should have been resolved before the proceedings continued, since the labor board may not have had legal authority to hear all of the cases.
This question is now one of the central issues in the FGR investigation and serves as one of the legal grounds for challenging the validity of the six labor rulings.
Who Processed and Issued the Labor Rulings?
According to the investigation, the lawsuits were initially assigned by Aarón David Carrillo Ochoa and Edgar Ubaldo Ruiz Castillo, who served as secretary of agreements and assistant, respectively, at Special Board No. 42.
The final rulings were issued by Aarón David Carrillo Ochoa and Gerardo Alfonso Montellano Valdés, the latter serving as president of the labor board.
The inclusion of their names in the investigation is part of reconstructing how the cases were received, processed, and resolved. The information disclosed does not, by itself, establish criminal liability for any of the individuals mentioned.
One Ruling Alone Ordered a Payment of More Than 950 Million Pesos
The largest case accounted for most of the money at issue.
That ruling ordered the ISSSTE to pay 950,262,029.25 pesos to 678 former public servants, primarily former members of the Federal Police and the Federal Public Security Secretariat.
This single ruling represented more than three-quarters of the 1.23 billion pesos involved in the six labor rulings now under investigation.
Because of both the amount and the number of beneficiaries, this case has become the central focus of the complaints filed with the FGR.
Did the Former Officers Receive the Compensation?
No.
According to the available information, after the alleged irregularities were discovered, the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board suspended enforcement of the labor rulings, preventing the payments from being made.
The case was then referred for investigation to determine how the lawsuits were processed and the rulings issued.
The intervention prevented the ISSSTE from paying the amounts ordered in the labor decisions.
What Happened to Special Board No. 42?
On June 17, 2024, Mexico’s Ministry of Labor ordered the dissolution of Special Board No. 42, which had been based in Torreón.
The FGR continues to investigate the six labor rulings and the procedures used to process lawsuits seeking to compel the ISSSTE to pay more than 1.23 billion pesos.
The investigation will determine whether the rulings resulted from unlawful actions and whether any individuals bear legal responsibility. Meanwhile, enforcement of the payments remains suspended, and the allegations are still under investigation.
Source: elimparcial
