Beneficiaries of the deceased worker: Spouse or common-law wife?

A women in her character of spouse and on behalf of his minor childsued the pattern of the deceased worker the declaration of unique benefit of the rights derived from the employment relationship.

Other womenwhich was shown as concubine of the deceasedwent to judgment as third interested to claim those same benefits for she and its two minor children.

In this particular case, the tworker was separated from his wife and had started a new life with concubinebut without the marriage by administrative or judicial ruling.

However, concubinage existed in fact and was legally recognized (inappropriately, of course, because the man was not single), however, the nullity of said concubinage was not a matter of controversy.

The labor court designated as legitimate beneficiaries only to the concubine and the three minors.

The dissatisfied spouse sought direct protection, which was denied, and subsequently filed an appeal for review.

The appeal for review was resolved by the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, determining that “the recognition of the concubine as beneficiary of the rights derived from the employment relationship of a deceased workerdoes not imply ignoring the rights that correspond to his spouse.”

The Second Chamber justified its decision in that: “…Currently, families are formed in ways different from those traditionally accepted, which is why the Chamber itself has issued various criteria that extend the protection of the family to cases that face limitations in the law or in collective bargaining contracts, to achieve the recognition of the rights derived from the death of a worker…”

“…In this context, if a person goes to court in his capacity as a spouse to demand that he be declared the beneficiary of the labor rights of a deceased worker, without noticing the legal dissolution of the marriage bond, that should not be denied. right in the face of the existence of a person who, in her capacity as a concubine, is also declared beneficiary of the former, because in accordance with the principle of primacy of reality, the existence of a concubinage does not necessarily imply that a legally constituted marriage does not continue to meet the elements of help and solidarity that make it up, coupled with the fact that both the rights and obligations that derive from it, subsist until there is an administrative or judicial resolution that puts an end to that relationship…”

“…Therefore, if the marriage bond was not dissolved, the surviving spouse should not be excluded from the labor rights derived from the death of his or her spouse, since these subsist due to the legal relationship that united them and was not dissolved, regardless of that the concubine is also recognized as a beneficiary, in which case the benefits corresponding to each creditor must be established proportionally.”

Thus giving rise to the jurisprudence of the area: BENEFICIARIES OF THE DECEASED WORKING PERSON. THE RECOGNIZATION OF THIS CHARACTER IN FAVOR OF THE CONCUBINE DOES NOT IMPLY IGNORING THE RIGHTS THAT CORRESPOND TO THE SPOUSE, published in the Gazette of the Judicial Weekly of the Federation on May 3, 2024, with digital registration 2028693.

As always, a pleasure to greet you, hoping that these few letters have been to your liking and, above all, useful. Until next time!

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Graduate in law from the Sinaloa Free School of Law, master in constitutional law and amparo and master in commercial and business law, with honorable mention, from the Universidad Panamericana, Guadalajara campus. He graduated with honorable mention from the postgraduate courses in civil and commercial procedural law, law of obligations and contracts and tax law taught by the Universidad Panamericana, Guadalajara campus and is a specialist in the areas of administrative, civil, family, commercial, agrarian, protection. , notarial and corporate. He is studying the AD2 Senior Business Management program at IPADE. He is director of the legal services company LMA, Integradora Legal, based in Culiacán and Mazatlán. Member of the Mexican Bar Association, AC, he was president of the steering committee and founder of the Sinaloa chapter, and currently a member of the national council of said association, he also belongs to the American Bar Association. He is a professor at the Sinaloa Free School of Law, and serves as an advisor to the advisory council of the State Human Rights Commission of the State of Sinaloa. He was secretary of agreements of the First Criminal Court of La Paz and external legal advisor and Interim Secretary of the City Council of the Municipality of Rosario.

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