May 3, 2021 New Mexico requires employers provide paid leave effective July 1, 2022 On April 8, 2021, New Mexico Governor Lujan Grisham signed into law the Healthy Workplaces Act (HB 20) which effective July 1, 2022, requires that most employers provide up to 64 hours of paid sick leave per year to their New Mexico employees. "This is, point blank, a humane policy for workers," said Governor Grisham. "No one should ever be compelled to come to work when they are sick. And no worker should ever feel they must choose between their health and their livelihood." (Governor Grisham press release, April 8, 2021.) Covered employers and employees The paid leave requirements apply to all employers that employ one or more New Mexico employees at any one time. The following are exempt from the requirement:
A covered employee includes individuals employed within New Mexico on a full-time, part-time, seasonal or temporary basis. Accrual of paid sick leave It is required that employees accrue a minimum of one hour of earned sick leave for every 30 hours worked; however, employers may use a higher accrual rate. Employers may elect to grant employees the full 64 hours of earned sick leave for the upcoming year on January 1 of each year, or for employees whose employment begins after January 1 of a given year, a pro-rata portion of the 64 hours for use in the remainder of that year. All covered employees must accrue earned sick leave as follows.
An employer may choose any one of the following methods for determining the 12-month period in which earned sick leave may be used:
Circumstances that qualify for paid leave An employee may use earned sick leave:
Employee notice concerning need for paid leave Employers are required to provide earned sick leave upon the oral or written request of an employee or an individual acting on the employee's behalf. When possible, the request should include the expected duration of the sick leave absence. When the use of earned sick leave is foreseeable, the employee is required to make a reasonable effort to provide oral or written notice of the need for sick leave to the employer in advance of the use of the earned sick leave and make a reasonable effort to schedule the use of earned sick leave in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the employer's operations. When the need to use earned sick leave is not foreseeable, the employee must notify the employer orally or in writing as soon as practicable. Employer notice requirements Upon commencement of employment, employers are required to give employees written or electronic notice in English, Spanish or any language that is the first language spoken by at least 10% of the employer's workforce and include the following:
In addition to providing the notice to employees, employers must also display a poster that contains the information above. More information, including the workplace poster, once available, will be posted on the DWS website. Ernst & Young Insights The law specifies that if an employer has a paid leave policy with accrual requirements that meet or exceed those under the New Mexico Healthy Workplaces Act, and those accrued leave hours are available under the same minimum terms and conditions, the employer's policy is deemed to meet the requirements of the New Mexico Healthy Workplaces Act. (Exceptions apply to employees covered under a union agreement.) Note also that the paid leave requirements under the New Mexico Healthy Workplaces Act are more generous than those required by employers of Bernalillo County. Accordingly, effective July 1, 2022, Bernalillo County employers must instead comply with the requirements of the New Mexico Healthy Workplaces Act. ———————————————
——————————————— EY Payroll News Flash | |||||||||
|