Harassment claims by a supervisor trigger a gender-perspective review
Gender perspective in labor matters. Courts are obliged to apply it in cases of workplace harassment.
Official heading (Spanish): PERSPECTIVA DE GÉNERO EN MATERIA LABORAL. LOS ÓRGANOS JURISDICCIONALES TIENEN LA OBLIGACIÓN DE APLICARLA EN CASOS DE ACOSO LABORAL.
The ruling
A worker sued UNAM to extend her contract and be reinstated, alleging harassment by her supervisor that led to a change in the term of her employment. The Collegiate Circuit Court denied the amparo, finding no sign of discrimination. The full SCJN held, as binding precedent (jurisprudencia), that alleging top-down harassment is enough to require a gender-perspective analysis.
Our take
The threshold is low: discrimination need not be proven first; the mere allegation of harassment by a superior triggers the analysis. For employers, the practical effect is evidentiary. With a gender perspective, the court weighs circumstantial evidence, context and power imbalances, and the employer must show it acted. In our experience, the best defense is built before litigation: a prevention protocol actually applied, a working reporting channel, documented investigations and measures taken. Without that, a dismissal claim can turn into a workplace violence case that is hard to answer.
What to do
- Make sure the anti-harassment protocol is current, communicated and actually applied.
- Document every complaint, the investigation conducted and the measures taken.
- Review any term or termination decision affecting a harassment complainant before acting on it.
Details
- Court
- SCJN Plenary
- Type
- Binding precedent (jurisprudencia)
- Identifier
- P./J. 126/2026 (12a.)
- Digital registry
- 2032268
- Published
- June 12, 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.