New Mexico Paid Sick Leave

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About New Mexico Paid Sick Leave (Healthy Workplaces Act)

The Healthy Workplaces Act of 2021 is a law requiring all private employers in New Mexico to allow employees to accrue and use a benefit called earned sick leave. The law took effect on July 1, 2022. The Act lets employees earn and use paid sick leave. Employees may use this leave for various reasons listed in the Act, like the employee’s or their qualifying family member's illness or injury, or to deal with certain legal and family issues. Employers who do not honor an employee’s rights to sick leave face potential civil liability. The Act authorizes the Labor Relations Division (LRD) of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) to investigate violations and enforce the Healthy Workplaces Act.

Employers with paid-time-off policies that are more generous than the minimum accrual and usage limits specified in Act are compliant with the Act if employees may use the leave for the same purposes and under the same terms and conditions specified in the Act.

The earned sick leave required by the Act is in addition to any paid time off provided by an employer pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement unless employees may use the paid time off for the same purposes and under the same terms and conditions specified in the Act.

Healthy Workplaces Act Final Rules

Healthy Workplaces State Statute, NMSA Chapter 50, Article 17 - PDF

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Healthy Workplaces Act Complaint Form - English

Formulario de Denuncia de la Ley de Lugares de Trabajo Saludables - Español

Frequently Asked Paid Sick Leave Questions

FAQs all-in-one - PDF

Do overtime hours need to be included in the calculation of paid sick leave accrual (1 hour of earned sick leave per 30 hours the employee works)?

Yes. Hours worked in excess of 40 hours per seven-day work week accrue sick leave at the same rate as regular hours: one hour of earned sick leave per 30 hours of work.

How do employers calculate the amount of sick leave that they must provide to employees from July 1 to December 31, 2022?

Employees must start accruing paid sick leave on July 1, 2022. For every thirty (30) hours an employee works, the employee must accrue one (1) hour of sick leave. Employers may not offset this requirement with leave employees already earned or used since January 1, 2022. If an employer’s policy or a collective bargaining agreement provides that employees accrue more than one hour per every 30 worked, then use that amount. Employers who want to frontload to comply with the HWA for the rest of 2022 must frontload the full 64 hours, even though there will only be 6 months in the cycle for employers who choose to follow the calendar year.

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