Healthy Workplaces Act — paid sick leave mandate
New Mexico requires all private employers, regardless of size, to provide paid sick leave under the Healthy Workplaces Act, effective July 1, 2022. The Act applies to employees performing work in New Mexico, including full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees. Exempt are employees of the United States, state and local government entities, and employees covered by the federal Railway Labor Act. The Labor Relations Division of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions administers and enforces the Act.
Paid sick leave accrual rate
Under the Healthy Workplaces Act, employees accrue a minimum of one hour of earned sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers may choose a higher accrual rate. As an alternative to accrual, employers may frontload the full 64 hours of earned sick leave at the start of each year (or a pro rata portion for employees hired mid-year). Overtime hours count toward the accrual calculation at the same one-hour-per-30-hours rate unless the employer has elected a higher accrual rate.
Source: N.M. Stat. Ann. § 50-17-3(A) & 11.1.6.8(B) NMAC
Annual usage cap and carryover limits
New Mexico's Healthy Workplaces Act caps the use of paid sick leave at 64 hours per 12-month period but does not cap accrual. An employee who works more than 1,920 hours in a year (30 hours × 64) will accrue more than 64 hours, and the excess accrual carries forward. Employers may choose one of four methods for defining the 12-month period: (a) a calendar year; (b) any fixed 12-month leave year, such as a fiscal year or the employee's anniversary date; (c) the 12-month period measured forward from the date the employee first uses earned sick leave; or (d) a rolling 12-month period measured backward from the date the employee uses any earned sick leave.
Carryover. Under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 50-17-3(B)(5), "accrued unused earned sick leave shall carry over from year to year." The statute does not specify a carryover cap. The Labor Relations Division has clarified in regulation that employers are not required to permit more than 64 hours of unused earned sick leave to carry over year-to-year. This means an employee with, for example, 90 unused hours at year-end can be capped at carrying over 64 hours into the new year, though the employer may voluntarily permit carryover beyond 64 hours.
Interaction with frontloading. If an employer frontloads 64 hours at the start of the year, and an employee has 64 hours of unused leave carried over, the employee's balance can be 128 hours (64 carryover + 64 frontload), even though the employer can still limit usage to 64 hours during that 12-month period. Employers who frontload must still permit carryover; frontloading does not eliminate the carryover obligation. An employee who works more than 1,920 hours in a year is entitled to accrue more than the frontloaded 64 hours, and the employer may not recoup frontloaded leave that exceeds hours actually worked.
No payout at separation. Employers are not required to pay employees for accrued unused sick leave upon termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment. However, if an employer voluntarily pays out unused leave at separation, the paid-out leave is deemed "used" and does not need to be reinstated if the employee is rehired within 12 months.
Source: N.M. Stat. Ann. § 50-17-3 Source: 11.1.6.8(K)–(L) NMAC