Intro to New Mexico Labor Laws

Effective March 1, the minimum wage in the New Mexico localities of Santa Fe (city) and Santa Fe County will increase to $14.60 per hour. This minimum wage is higher than the current New Mexico minimum wage of $12 per hour.

Effective March 1, 2022 all employers are required to pay employees a minimum hourly wage of $12.95 per hour. This includes part-time and temporary employees.

New Mexico enacted the Healthy Workplaces Act (HWA) which, starting next year, will require employers to provide eligible employees with up to to 64 hours of paid sick leave each year. The law covers most private employers with at least one employee. Employees may request paid sick leave for their own health condition and to provide care relating to a family member’s health condition, among other reasons. Employers must also provide a notice to new hires and must retain records of paid sick leave usage for a four-year period.

Employers can track employee paid sick leave in Justworks by setting up a policy in the platform that matches its internal company policy.

Beginning in March, all employers in the City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County are required to pay employees a minimum hourly wage of $14.03 per hour. This includes part-time and temporary employees.

Employers should review employee pay and update accordingly.

New Mexico has amended the New Mexico Human Rights Act to explicitly prohibit racial discrimination based on traits historically associated with race, including hair texture, length of hair, protective hairstyles or cultural headdresses. The act applies to employers with 4 or more employees.

New Mexico is one of the most recent states to legalize recreational marijuana. In a departure from other recent state laws, the New Mexico act explicitly does not prevent employers from enforcing a zero-tolerance policy for possession of or impairment by cannabis at work, including taking adverse action based on a positive drug test. However, employees with medical marijuana prescriptions or cards will have additional rights as employees that employers must consider. In addition to this new law, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham also enacted legislation that will expunge arrests and convictions for certain cannabis offenses.