Caregiver Leave

NMSA 1978 ch. 50, art. 16

in effect

NMSA 1978, § 50-16-1 Short title

50-16-1. Short title Sections 1 through 4 [50-16-1 to 50-16-4 NMSA 1978] of this act may be cited as the "Caregiver Leave Act". Laws 2019, ch. 177, § 1.

NMSA 1978, § 50-16-2 Definitions

50-16-2. Definitions As used in the Caregiver Leave Act: A. "eligible employee" means, except as provided pursuant to Section 4 of the Caregiver Leave Act, an individual who is in the employ of an employer and who, in accordance with the employer's policies, is eligible to accrue sick leave; B. "employer" means a person that employs one or more employees and that offers eligible employees sick leave; C. "family member" means an individual who is the spouse or domestic partner of or is by blood, marriage or legal adoption a parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, child, foster child, grandchild, great-grandchild, brother, sister, niece, nephew, aunt or uncle of an eligible employee; and D. "sick leave" means a leave of absence from employment for which an employer pays an eligible employee due to illness or injury or to receive care from a licensed or certified health professional. "Sick leave" does not include leave to which an employee is entitled under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, regardless of whether the employee uses sick leave during that leave. Laws 2019, ch. 177, § 2.

NMSA 1978, § 50-16-3 Accumulated sick leave; application to family caregiving

50-16-3. Accumulated sick leave; application to family caregiving A. An employer that provides eligible employees with sick leave for an eligible employee's own illness or injury or to receive health care shall permit its eligible employees to use accrued sick leave to care for their family members in accordance with the same terms and procedures that the employer imposes for any other use of sick leave by eligible employees. B. An eligible employee's employer shall not discharge or threaten to discharge, demote, suspend or retaliate or discriminate in any manner, including using the employee's use of caregiver leave as a factor in the employee's performance evaluation, against an eligible employee because that employee requests or uses caregiver leave in accordance with the employer's general sick leave policy, files a complaint with the workforce solutions department for violation of the Caregiver Leave Act, cooperates in an investigation or prosecution of an alleged violation of the Caregiver Leave Act or opposes any policy or practice established pursuant to the Caregiver Leave Act. C. Nothing in this section shall require an employer to provide sick leave to its employees. D. The provisions of the Caregiver Leave Act are nonexclusive and cumulative and are in addition to any other rights or remedies afforded by contract or under other provision of law. The Caregiver Leave Act does not prohibit an employer from providing greater sick leave benefits than are provided pursuant to that act. E. The secretary of workforce solutions shall adopt and promulgate rules to implement the provisions of the Caregiver Leave Act. These rules shall include, at a minimum, grievance procedures for according eligible employees recourse for violations of the Caregiver Leave Act. Laws 2019, ch. 177, § 3.

NMSA 1978, § 50-16-4 Exemptions

50-16-4. Exemptions A. The provisions of the Caregiver Leave Act shall not apply to: (1) an employee of an employer subject to the provisions of Title II of the federal Railway Labor Act or to an employer or employee as defined in either the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act or the Federal Employers' Liability Act or other comparable federal law; or (2) any other employment expressly exempted under rules adopted by the workforce solutions department as necessary to implement the provisions of the Caregiver Leave Act in accordance with applicable state and federal law. B. Nothing in the Caregiver Leave Act shall be construed to invalidate, diminish or otherwise interfere with any collective bargaining agreement, nor shall it be construed to invalidate, diminish or otherwise interfere with any party's power to collectively bargain for a collective bargaining agreement. Laws 2019, ch. 177, § 4.

Source: New Mexico Compilation Commission (nmonesource.com)URL: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa-unanno/en/item/18553/index.doFetched: 10/20/2026