Daniel Noboa partially vetoed the labor reform on age discrimination.

The President of the Republic, Daniel Noboa, partially objected due to unconstitutionality and inconvenience to the Organic Law project that reformed various regulations to prevent age discrimination in the workplace. The National Assembly approved this initiative on February 18, 2025, but the Executive sent its observations on March 17 for reconsideration in the legislative Plenary.

One of the vetoed points was the reform to the Labor Code, which required employers with more than 25 workers to mandatorily hire people over 40 years old. According to the legislative proposal, this measure would be implemented progressively, starting with 1% of the staff in the second year until reaching 4% in the fifth year.

Noboa argued that this provision violates the legal security established in Article 82 of the Constitution, by obligating the hiring of workers without considering criteria such as academic training, experience, or technical skills.

Additionally, the Government indicated that the regulation could lead to unnecessary layoffs to meet the imposed quotas. Provisions that intended to sanction age discrimination in the workplace were also vetoed, arguing that the Organic Law of Public Service (LOSEP) already includes mechanisms to prevent these practices.

Meanwhile, the proposal for the Ministry of Labor to establish a specific program to prevent age discrimination was rejected. Noboa indicated that there are already existing regulations to address this issue, so it would not be necessary to include new regulations with the same purpose.

Now, the National Assembly must decide whether to accept the presidential veto or insist on its initial proposal. If the Executive's objection is maintained, the reform would not come into effect under the terms approved by the legislators.