NEW MEXICO - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

• The state overtime law adopts the definition of “agriculture” in the federal FLSA. (N.M. STAT. ANN. § 50-4-24(B))

There is a state minimum wage law. (N.M. STAT. ANN. § 50-4-19–50-4-20)
New Mexico’s hourly minimum wage is:
- $12 effective Jan. 1, 2023.
There are different wage rates for tipped workers and students.
Agricultural workers are covered by the state minimum wage law, but with many exceptions. (See N.M. STAT. ANN. §§ 50-4-21(9)–(10))

There is a state law regarding overtime pay. (NMSA 1978 § 50-4-22)
Agricultural workers are excluded from state overtime law (NMSA 1978 § 50-4-24(B)).

New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, Labor Relations Division

Agricultural workers are covered by the state workers’ compensation law with no exceptions. Although previously excluded under state law, the New Mexico Supreme Court held that excluding agricultural workers was unconstitutional under N.M. Const. Art. II, § 18 (i.e. equal protection clause) because there was nothing that distinguished farm and ranch laborers from other agricultural employees, and there was no other explicit exemption pertaining to agricultural workers. See Rodriguez v. Brand W. Dairy, 378 P.3d 13 (N.M. 2016).

State Enforcement Agency:
New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Administration

There is a state law regarding field sanitation. (NMCA § 11.5.4.11) The state adopts the federal OSHA standards.

State Enforcement Agency:
New Mexico Environment Department, Occupational Health and Safety

New Mexico has a Pesticide Control Act that governs pesticide use and safety in the state. (N.M. STAT. ANN. §§ 76-4-1 – 76-4-39; N.M. CODE. R. § 21.17.50)
Suspected pesticide poisoning is a reportable illness for health care providers. (N.M. CODE R. § 7.4.3.) Hospitals and health care providers are required to report.

State Enforcement Agency:
New Mexico Department of Agriculture, Pesticide Compliance

There is no provision (or judicial interpretation of a provision) in the state constitution that grants farmworkers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation or the right to engage in collective bargaining.
There is no state statute that grants agricultural workers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation. However, state law does prohibit retaliation against any person for assisting another person to assert a wage right or informing another person about their rights. (N.M. STAT. ANN. § 50-4-26.1) State law also prohibits interfering with, impeding, or in any way diminishing the rights of employees to bargain collectively. (N.M. STAT. ANN. § 50-4-28)

New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty
http://www.nmpovertylaw.org