Minimum Wage & Overtime Rules Across LatAm

September 18, 2026

Last reviewed: September 2026. This guide is general information for U.S. employers, not legal or tax advice. Employment and tax rules change often, so confirm specifics with qualified local counsel or a tax professional before acting.

Working-hours limits and overtime rules are some of the most operationally relevant compliance details in LatAm hiring, they directly affect how a role can be scheduled and what it costs to run outside standard hours. Minimum wage figures change often enough that we've deliberately avoided stating specific current currency amounts here and named the body that sets each one instead, so you can check the current figure at the source; the legal structure and standard workweek, by contrast, are more stable and worth understanding country by country, although several of these countries are in the middle of phased workweek reductions. For the employment-structure side of this question, see our guide to choosing an Employer of Record, and our public holidays and paid time off guide for the other scheduling variable that affects these same roles.

Mexico

Under the Ley Federal del Trabajo, the standard workday is capped at 8 hours for day shifts (Article 61), with a standard 48-hour workweek in 2026. A reform published May 1, 2026 phases the maximum ordinary workweek down by two hours a year, to 46 hours in 2027, 44 in 2028, 42 in 2029, and 40 in 2030, with no reduction in pay. Overtime is regulated under Articles 66-68: overtime within the weekly limit is paid at double the regular rate, and hours beyond that limit at triple, a notably strict overtime multiplier compared to many other jurisdictions. The double-rate allowance is 9 hours per week through 2027 and rises gradually to 12 hours per week by 2030, with no more than 4 overtime hours per day on no more than 4 days per week. The general minimum wage is set annually by CONASAMI (Comisión Nacional de los Salarios Mínimos) and differs between the general zone and the Zona Libre de la Frontera Norte.

Colombia

Colombia's Código Sustantivo del Trabajo sets a standard workweek that has been progressively reduced under Ley 2101 de 2021, which cut the maximum from 48 hours in annual steps and reached the final 42-hour standard workweek on July 15, 2026. Overtime (Articles 159-168) is generally compensated at a 25% surcharge for daytime overtime and 75% for nighttime overtime, on top of the ordinary hourly rate, and Ley 2466 de 2025 limits overtime to 2 hours per day and 12 hours per week. That same reform moved the start of night work to 7:00 p.m. and is raising the Sunday and holiday surcharge to 90% from July 1, 2026 and 100% from July 1, 2027. Colombia's minimum wage (salario mínimo mensual legal vigente, SMMLV) is set annually by the national government, typically effective each January 1, and is paired with a separate mandatory transportation allowance (auxilio de transporte) for lower-earning workers.

Argentina

Argentina's Ley de Contrato de Trabajo (Ley 20.744), together with Ley 11.544 (the jornada de trabajo law), sets a standard workday of 8 hours and workweek of 48 hours. Overtime is compensated at a 50% surcharge on ordinary days and a 100% surcharge for work on Saturdays after 1:00 p.m., Sundays, and holidays. The 2026 labor modernization law, Ley 27.802, also lets employers and employees voluntarily agree to an hour bank or compensatory time off for overtime, subject to minimum rest rules. Argentina's minimum wage (Salario Mínimo, Vital y Móvil, SMVM) is set by the Consejo Nacional del Empleo, la Productividad y el Salario Mínimo, Vital y Móvil and adjusted periodically given the country's inflationary environment, more frequently than an annual cycle in many recent years. Many roles are also governed by a sector-specific collective bargaining agreement that can set higher minimums than the SMVM floor.

Brazil

Brazil's CLT sets a standard workday of 8 hours and workweek of 44 hours (Article 58, reflecting the limits in Article 7 of the Federal Constitution), with overtime (Article 59) generally compensated at a minimum 50% surcharge over the normal hourly rate, though many collective agreements set a higher rate. A constitutional amendment (PEC 221/2019) that would cut the workweek to 40 hours and end the six-day "6x1" schedule passed the Chamber of Deputies and, as of September 2026, awaits a Senate floor vote, so watch for changes. Brazil's national minimum wage (salário mínimo) is set by federal law or decree, typically effective each January 1, and functions as a floor beneath which no formal wage may fall nationally, though many roles and regions pay well above it.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica's Código de Trabajo sets a standard workday of 8 hours for daytime work and a 48-hour standard workweek, with overtime compensated at a 50% surcharge over the ordinary hourly rate. Costa Rica's minimum wage structure is unusual in the region for how granular it is: the Ministerio de Trabajo y Seguridad Social (MTSS) publishes a detailed list of minimum wages by specific occupational category, not just a single national floor, and revises it periodically.

Why the Overtime Multiplier Matters More Than the Headline Wage

For most professional and technical nearshore roles, the base salary sits comfortably above the local minimum wage, so the overtime rules end up mattering more day-to-day than the wage floor itself. Mexico's tiered double-then-triple overtime rate, in particular, makes an informal "just work through it" expectation for occasional after-hours work a real cost and compliance issue if it becomes a regular pattern rather than a rare exception. Scheduling roles within standard hours, and treating routine overtime as an exception requiring approval and correct payment rather than an unstated norm, keeps this from becoming a liability. RapiStaffing's payroll management services handle this calculation as part of ongoing compliance rather than leaving it to be reconstructed after the fact. See our payroll tax and withholding basics for how overtime pay factors into broader payroll compliance.

FAQ

Can a salaried employee in these countries be exempt from overtime, the way some U.S. roles are?
Exemptions exist in some countries for certain managerial or trust-based roles, but they're narrower and more specifically defined than the U.S. FLSA exemption categories, this isn't a detail to assume by analogy to U.S. practice.

Does time-zone-overlap scheduling with U.S. business hours create overtime issues?
Not inherently, if the schedule fits within the local standard workday and workweek. It becomes an overtime question only when actual hours worked exceed those local limits, which is worth tracking explicitly rather than assuming alignment with U.S. hours is automatically compliant. With Colombia now at 42 hours and Mexico and possibly Brazil reducing their limits, a 40-plus-hour U.S.-style schedule needs checking against each year's local cap.

Who's responsible for calculating overtime correctly, us or an EOR?
Through an EOR structure, the EOR as legal employer typically manages the statutory overtime calculation and payment as part of payroll; direct employment through your own entity puts that responsibility on your own payroll process.

Minimum Wage, Overtime, and Working-Hours Rules Across LatAm