NM business leaders still wary of paid family and medical leave bill

Some of New Mexico’s prominent business leaders still oppose a bill that would provide employees with paid leave for self or family medical needs, despite lawmakers’ efforts to make it more palatable this legislative session.

They’re mainly worried the legislation would have a negative economic impact on businesses.

Lawmakers have said they tried to adjust the bill this year to ease business concerns, adding new details and safeguards.

“We’re confident that the bill is ready,” said bill sponsor Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos. She expects the legislation to be on the governor’s call.

However, the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce still oppose the bill.

The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce outlined its concerns to the bill shortly after lawmakers pre-filed it. Board Chairman Bruce Stidworthy said Chamber worries are the same as the last legislative session, revolving around the amount of leave, who is eligible for it and reasons employees can take leave.

“There has been really no flexibility on those most important dimensions, last year or between last year and this year,” he said.

Rob Black, president and CEO of the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce, said the bill isn’t financially sustainable and undermines a broader social safety net of some businesses in the state, like its previous version did last year.

“There were some some changes that were made that I think were appreciated,” he said. “But, fundamentally, I don’t think the finances of how the bill is structured have changed.”

Similarly, House Minority Floor Leader Ryan Lane, R-Aztec, said the latest iteration of the bill would have a significant negative impact on business communities.

“It’s a strange thing to say you’re passing a bill that is for the benefit of workers and a community,” he said, “but if you look at what the actual impact of that bill is going to be, it’s going to have a significant impact on small business in a negative way, in a way it’s not going to impact major corporations.”

The detailsUnder the bill, employees would get paid time off up to 12 weeks for self or family medical purposes, including for serious medical conditions, bonding with a child, demands related to military deployment, bereavement following the death of a child, and in response to domestic violence, sexual assault or abuse and stalking.

Taking the leave, employees would be paid 100% of minimum wage plus 67% of wages above that. Someone making $13, which is a dollar above minimum wage, would get $12.67 per hour.

Employees would pay 0.5% of their wages per year into the fund, and businesses with five or more employees would contribute 0.4% of wages.

Employees would start contributing to the state-managed fund in January 2026 and could apply for the leave starting January 2027.

Employees’ fund contribution increases, which the state would set for the following calendar year, could not exceed 0.1% of wages in a year. There’s also a wage cap established by the federal Social Security Administration program.

Bill sponsor Chandler noted that businesses with fewer than five employees don’t have to pay the premium.

“So we’ve adjusted some for the very small businesses in the state,” she said.

The bill, compared to previous versions, adds wage caps and requires an actuarial study. Chandler said these changes will help the bill make it through the Legislature, where similar versions have failed in the past.

Tracy McDaniel, a policy expert with Southwest Women’s Law Center and an expert witness on the bill, noted that leave requires a professional sign-off, such as from a medical professional or military officer. That official also specifies how much time is needed, she said.

“This isn’t just like calling in sick,” she said. “This really is you have to show proof that you have one of those specific causes for leave.”

It would be up to the Department of Workforce Solutions, not the employer, to grant the leave, she said.

“This is not a decision that should be made by an employer, should be made by politicians or government officials,” McDaniel said. “It really is about what’s best for this person based on their medical professional’s understanding of their situation.”

Impact on businessChandler said the bill will make small businesses more competitive with large businesses, many of which already offer these types of leave programs.

“Small businesses don’t have the resources to be able to provide a similar sort of insurance program or even really bear the cost of the person’s wages while they’re out bonding with their child or addressing a serious illness,” she said. “So the state is providing a support for those businesses.”

She said 13 states that already have similar plans are proof of the bill’s benefits.

“Businesses have been successful as a result of these programs, not hampered by them,” she said.

Black, of the state Chamber of Commerce, said the research that shows the program is successful is based off of California, a state with a program that’s fully employee funded, meaning businesses aren’t paying an additional tax on top of replacing an employee.

He said six of nine states paying a leave benefit to bond with a child are 100% employee funded, which he said is a better model for small businesses. Businesses on set state contracts or Medicaid waivers, such as those providing childhood care services or in-home senior services, can’t be flexible to pay for the proposed unfunded mandate, he said.

Lane, the House minority floor leader, also has concerns regarding the bills impact on business’s finances.

He said if employers were to violate the program, whether intentionally or not, they could be sued and have to pay damages and costs, including attorney fees and potentially punitive damages. A small business owner could have to outsource attorneys and CPAs, whereas a multimillion-dollar corporation has those experts in house.

“It’s actually a bill that’s going to encourage multimillion-dollar corporations to exist in New Mexico and make it harder for small business to exist,” Lane said.

He said a better middle ground would be to allow businesses, employees or local governments to opt into a paid leave program. He said it’s an issue that an employee who doesn’t want to participate in the program still has to pay for it.

“I don’t think that’s fair to them,” he said.

The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce proposed focusing specifically on maternity leave.

“It’s much easier to implement,” Stidworthy said. “It’s much more black and white with respect to what are the qualifying conditions and who qualifies, much less expensive because it’s more limited.”

Black said a more moderate approach would ensure the state isn’t taxing people “for a benefit that we can’t afford to continue to pay.” He said if a more narrow program works, then the approach could be expanded.

“Let’s start small and then grow as the finances reflect the ability to do so,” he said.