The Healthy Workplaces Act (HWA) 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 takes effect on Friday, July 1, 2022. Is your business ready? The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (NMDWS) has the tools and information to help you prepare at https://www.dws.state.nm.us/NMPaidSickLeave.
A recorded Paid Sick Leave Information Webinar is available to watch on demand on the website listed above. The webinar introduces the HWA, discusses what your business should do now to prepare, and hear from NMDWS Labor Relations Division subject matter experts as they answer questions from employers who attended.
You are encouraged to read the state statue and frequently asked questions both can be found on the NMDWS website https://www.dws.state.nm.us/NMPaidSickLeave.
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 of NMDWS 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 the 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.
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