Lawmakers want to bring paid family and medical leave to New Mexico
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Lawmakers are once again pushing paid family and medical leave for workers across New Mexico. The bill would allow employees to take time off for reasons including paternity leave and domestic violence cases.
Story continues below
Legislature: Bill would require NM university board of regents members to get ethics and financial training
Crime: FBI investigates two marijuana-growing operations in Torrance County
News: Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman speaks on actions taken by President Trump on immigration
A similar bill gained traction last session, but the 'Paid Family and Medical Leave Act' wasn't able to get the support it needed. On Monday, it was heard in its first committee and, once again, faced some opposition.
'Paid family leave truly is infrastructure for our workforce, it is a safety net for our workforce,' said Representative Linda Serrato (D-Santa Fe).
The bill is co-sponsored by Democratic Representatives, Christine Chandler, Mimi Stewart, and Linda Serrato.
It would cover employees asking for paternity leave, families preparing for a spouse in the military, medical reasons, and protecting employees experiencing domestic violence. However, business groups say the bill is harmful. 'While the current version of House Bill 11, has made some changes, the core of the bill remains unfriendly to businesses in New Mexico,' said Terri L. Cole, CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce.
The bill would require all workers and employers to pay into a state fund, with one-half percent coming from an employee's wages and employers with five or more employees, paying four-tenths of a percent of each employee's wages. Some businesses say they don't have the budget to cover these extra contributions and add if more people can get leave, they won't have enough staff. 'That this will kill small businesses. We cannot go on with more taxes and regulations on top of the agriculture community,' said Abigail O'Connor, New Mexico Cattle Growers Association.
Those in support shared emotional stories about how paid medical leave would help families struggling with sick family members. 'PMFLA will give our hard-working New Mexican families a guarantee that they will never have to choose between the most critical times in their lives and their job,' said one speaker in support of the bill.
' Whenever the employee is successful the employer is successful. And so, what we want to do is to make sure that they are able to take care of themselves when they need to and that they're able to take care of their families when they need to,' said Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D-Albuquerque).
The bill passed Monday's committee with a 6-4 vote. It still needs to clear another committee and the House floor, before going through the same process in the Senate. If the bill were to pass, New Mexico would be the 14th state in the country to implement a state-run paid family and medical leave program.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
42 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Judge blocks plan to allow immigration agents in New York City jail
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge blocked New York City's mayor from letting federal immigration authorities reopen an office at the city's main jail, in part because of concerns the mayor invited them back in as part of a deal with the Trump administration to end his corruption case. New York Judge Mary Rosado's decision Friday is a setback for Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, who issued an executive order permitting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies to maintain office space at the Rikers Island jail complex. City lawmakers filed a lawsuit in April accusing Adams of entering into a 'corrupt quid pro quo bargain' with the Trump administration in exchange for the U.S. Justice Department dropping criminal charges against him. Rosado temporarily blocked the executive order in April. In granting a preliminary injunction, she said city council members have 'shown a likelihood of success in demonstrating, at minimum, the appearance of a quid pro quo whereby Mayor Adams publicly agreed to bring Immigration and Customs Enforcement ('ICE') back to Rikers Island in exchange for dismissal of his criminal charges.' Rosado cited a number of factors, including U.S. border czar Tom Homan's televised comments in February that if Adams did not come through, 'I'll be in his office, up his butt saying, 'Where the hell is the agreement we came to?' ' Adams has repeatedly denied making a deal with the administration over the criminal case. He has said he deputized his first deputy mayor, Randy Mastro, to handle decision-making on the return of ICE to Rikers Island to make sure there was no appearance of any conflict of interest. Rosado said that Mastro reports to Adams and 'cannot be considered impartial and free from Mayor Adams' conflicts.' Mastro said in a prepared statement Friday the administration was confident they will prevail in the case. 'Let's be crystal clear: This executive order is about the criminal prosecution of violent transnational gangs committing crimes in our city. Our administration has never, and will never, do anything to jeopardize the safety of law-abiding immigrants, and this executive order ensures their safety as well,' Mastro said. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who is running in the Democratic primary for mayor, called the decision a victory for public safety. 'New Yorkers are counting on our city to protect their civil rights, and yet, Mayor Adams has attempted to betray this obligation by handing power over our city to Trump's ICE because he is compromised,' she said in a prepared statement. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
USA Today
42 minutes ago
- USA Today
Dodgers return to 'unsettling' situation in Los Angeles as protests continue
Dodgers return to 'unsettling' situation in Los Angeles as protests continue Show Caption Hide Caption Sen. Alex Padilla physically removed from DHS news conference Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla was forced out and handcuffed at a Homeland Security news conference in Los Angeles. LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts addressed the unrest in Los Angeles with protests sparked by immigration raids carried out by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 'I know that when you're having to bring people in and, you know, deport people and just kind of all the unrest, it's certainly unsettling for everyone," Roberts said June 13 during his pregame press conference at Dodger Stadium. Roberts spoke before the Dodgers' first home game since the protests started June 6, facing the San Francisco Giants after a six-game road trip that began the same day the protests started. Roberts, who helped lead the Dodgers to World Series titles in 2020 and 2024, said he didn't know enough about the situation to "speak intelligently on it." "I don't know enough, to be quite honest with you," Roberts said, adding that he "hasn't done enough and can't speak intelligently on it." During pregame clubhouse media availability, multiple Dodgers players declined to discuss the unrest in Los Angeles when asked by USA TODAY Sports.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump Accuses 'Paid Insurrectionists' of Orchestrating DTLA Mayhem
Trump Accuses 'Paid Insurrectionists' of Orchestrating DTLA Mayhem originally appeared on L.A. Mag. Questions are being raised about the violent "agitators," many of whom are traveling to Los Angeles from other cities, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell says, with the sole mission of unleashing havoc in DTLA. "The people who are out there doing the have a hoodie on, they have a a face mask are people who do this all the time," McDonnell said of the most violent protestors, who said "many come in from other places just to hurt people and cause havoc." President Donald Trump told reporters he believes the protests that have left large swaths of downtown Los Angeles, including cultural landmarks in Little Tokyo, are being fueled "by instigators and often paid troublemakers." Since protests began exploding in DTLA after immigration raids began in Los Angeles last Friday, law enforcement officials have noted some agitators aimed and released "commercial grade fireworks" at cops, others have hurled concrete blocks hammered from government buildings. Leaf blowers were used to redistribute tear gas. "We have seen it before. The paid, professional protester who uses unrest as a cover for anarchy," retired NYPD cop Tom Smith told Los Angeles. On Monday, the actions of Alejandro Theodoro Orellana, a U.S. Marine and Teamsters shop steward for UPS workers, raised alarms after he was captured on surveillance videos and by witnesses pulling his pickup into DTLA near 1st Street and Boyle Avenue around 4:30 p.m. with the the bed of his truck filled with boxes of riot-level Uvex Bionic Shield face masks, according to a FBI affidavit, that were then distributed. A federal agent notes in the affidavit that the masks are the "kind of item used by violent agitators to enable them to resist law enforcement and to engage in violence and/or vandalism during a civil disorder." Earlier in the day, labor activists and other protestors gathered in Grand Park to march to the federal courthouse where SEIU-United Service Workers West President David Huerta faced a judge in connection with his arrest days earlier outside a clothing factory that had just been raided. Huerta, a lifelong Angeleno and longtime labor leader, was injured during his arrest, which initiated outrage among union members who held a peaceful rally to protest his arrest and the treatment of immigrants by federal agents who conducted a series of clandestine actions in Los Angeles. Later that afternoon, the demonstrations, federal prosecutors say in court records, "continued to devolve from peaceful during the day to progressively more violent in the afternoon into the evening." Which is when Orellana arrived, the FBI says. Orellana was arrested Thursday morning in a raid at his parents' home in East Los Angeles, court records say. Among the items seized at his home, prosecutors say, was a notebook "containing various notes," including violent language towards law enforcement such as '1312 blue lives murder 187.' The number 1312 is often used as code for "all cops are bastards," and 187 is common slang spawned by California Penal Code 187, which addresses murder. Federal officials also recovered what they describe as "powerful wrist-rocket style slingshot and ammunition for the slingshot, including a small bag of rocks and containers of metal bee bees." Orellana is charged with two federal counts of Conspiracy to Commit Civil Disorders and Aiding and Abetting Civil Disorders. On Friday, Mayor Karen Bass announced that the curfew in the one-mile area hardest hit in DTLA will remain in place for at least another day, as she attended an interfaith vigil with Angelenos and announced resources for businesses who are suffering because of the chaos via webinars that will begin Friday afternoon. 'For a week now, our city has been dealing with the fallout driven by reckless raids of Home Depot parking lots and the activation of federalized troops,' Bass said. 'It's clear that they have no policy or plan but to create chaos in our city. In contrast, the city is prepared to deliver for Downtown businesses who have been impacted.' This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on Jun 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
