Restaurant association CEO wants a break on regulations

COVID-19-era restaurant regulations are continuing to hurt the industry, according to the New Mexico Restaurant Association.

CEO Carol Wight said the Healthy Workplaces Act that took effect in 2022 has stunted the recovery of local New Mexican restaurants after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Healthy Workplaces Act requires that employees working full-time or more than 80 hours in a 12-month period get one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.

“Just give us a little bit of a break on the regulations,” Wight asked policymakers last week at an Economic and Rural Development Committee meeting.

She argued that a restaurant making a 5% profit in 2019 would lose almost 20% in revenue today if it did not raise prices.

She said food and beverage, labor, utility and occupancy costs had all increased by at least 12% since 2019,according to data she shared from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Wight blamed the Healthy Workplaces Act for increases in restaurant operating cost and staffing shortages.

Russel Hernandez, who owns Salud! de Mesilla, a restaurant with 24 employees, said small businesses are unfairly affected by the Healthy Workplaces Act.

He said he pays $27,000 a year in paid sick leave.

The more benefits employees have, the longer businesses retain them, according to research. Sage Journal found that job retention increases by five months when employees have access to paid sick leave.

New Mexico State Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Albuquerque, sponsored the Healthy Workplaces Act. She pointed to support restaurants had during the pandemic, like tax deductions and federal loans.

“I think it is outrageous that we’re bringing up COVID-19 now, after all the support we gave the hospitality industry,” Chandler said.

She said the Healthy Workplaces Act was “critical not only for the individuals who were getting sick and needing time off, but it was important for the safety of customers."

The Healthy Workplaces Act is not the only bill Wight spoke out about at the legislative meeting. She said she opposes a Paid Family and Medical Leave program, something she said could be another policy hurdle and financial burden for restaurants.

It's a program that would require full-time employees get up to 12 weeks of leave for medical and safety reasons, like parental leave. The bill has died repeatedly in the Roundhouse, and failed in a narrow vote earlier this year in the House of Representatives.

However, Chandler said she planned to keep working on the bill and bringing it back to vote. She said she has talked to Wight about the proposed bill but would do so again.

“It really does benefit employers and make them more competitive with large companies that can offer enriched employment packages,” said Chandler.