This chapter is enacted pursuant to its general police powers
and the authority in NMSA 1978, section 437-1 (1975) (as amended)
to make and publish any ordinance to discharge the powers not inconsistent
with statutory or constitutional limitations placed on counties and
to exercise powers that are necessary and proper to provide for the
safety, preserve the health, promote the prosperity and improve the
morals, order, comfort and convenience of the county’s inhabitants,
and NMSA 1978, section 4-37-3 (1993) (as amended) which permits prosecution
of violations of county ordinances in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(Ordinance 2014-01 adopted 2/25/14)
Apprentice.
A person bound to serve another for a specified time in order
to learn some art, trade, profession, or business.
Base wage.
The minimum hourly rate of compensation that an employee
who customarily and regularly receives more than thirty dollars ($30.00)
a month in tips shall be paid pursuant to this chapter.
Commission.
A payment based on a percentage of the value of sales or
other business done.
Living wage.
The minimum hourly rate of compensation that an employee
shall be paid.
Tip.
A gratuity earned by an employee for providing good service.
(Ordinance 2014-01 adopted 2/25/14)
(A) This
chapter shall be effective within the exterior unincorporated boundaries
of the county.
(B) The county government shall pay the living wage established by section
118.05 of this chapter to its employees. However, the provisions of this subsection are expressly limited by and subject to collective bargaining agreements between the county and any bargaining unit.
(C) As
of the effective date of this chapter, contracts entered into by the
county government for services, including construction services, shall
require the contractor to pay the living wage established by this
chapter.
(D) Businesses
who undertake an economic development project and execute a project
participation agreement with the county shall pay the living wage
established by this chapter for the duration of the project.
(E) Businesses
required by the county ordinance to have a business license from the
county shall pay the living wage established by this chapter.
(F) For purposes of identifying who shall be paid the living wage established by this chapter, all individuals employed by or providing work to an employer identified in subsections
(A) through
(E) above, whether on a part-time, full-time or temporary basis, shall be considered to be an employee for purposes of this chapter. Also considered an employee for purposes of this chapter are contingent or contracted workers, and persons working through a temporary service, staffing or employment agency or similar entity. However, the following shall not be considered employees entitled to the living wage established by this chapter:
(1) An individual employed by the United States, the state or any political
subdivision of the state other than the county;
(2) An individual engaged in the activities of an educational, charitable,
religious or nonprofit organization where the employer-employee relationship
does not, in fact, exist or where the services rendered to such organizations
are on a voluntary basis;
(3) Apprentices in a registered apprentice program recognized by the
state apprenticeship and training committee or the Federal Bureau
of Apprenticeship and Training, as well as any apprentice participating
in an apprenticeship program providing significant instructional and
practical experience and offered by a 501C(3);
(4) G.I. bill trainees during training;
(5) Temporary employees of an educational, charitable or religious youth
camp or retreat where room and board is provided to the employee,
or if a day camp, where board only is provided. To qualify under this
exemption the employer must hold a valid certificate issued annually
by the director of the labor relations division of the workforce solutions
department of the State of New Mexico pertaining to exemption of seasonal
employees;
(6) Any employee that is the parent, spouse, child or other member of
the employer’s immediate family; for purposes of this subsection,
the employer shall include the principal stockholder of a family corporation;
(7) Interns working for a business for academic credit in connection
with a course of study at an accredited school, college or university;
and
(8) Persons working for a business in connection with a court-ordered
community service program.
(Ordinance 2014-01 adopted 2/25/14)
(A) The
board of county commissioners (hereinafter referred to as “the
board”) finds that the public welfare, health, safety and prosperity
of the citizens of the county requires that citizens be paid a living
wage sufficient to ensure a decent and healthy life;
(B) The
board finds that establishing a mandatory minimum hourly wage will
promote the public welfare, health, safety and prosperity by ensuring
that citizens can better support and care for their families through
their own efforts;
(C) According
to the United States Census Bureau:
(1) The average earnings per capita in the county is twenty-three percent
(23%) below the national average and the cost of living is eighteen
percent (18%) above the national average; and
(2) Fifteen and six-tenths percent (15.6%) of residents in the county
lived below the poverty level between 2007 and 2011;
(D) The
board finds that housing costs in the county are higher than in most
other parts of the state, and low income workers spend a disproportionate
percentage of their income sheltering themselves and their families;
(E) The
board finds that when businesses do not pay adequate wages, the community
bears the cost in the form of increased demand for taxpayer-funded
social services;
(F) The
county developed an affordable housing program that requires developers
to include affordable homes in each subdivision, down payment assistance,
assistance with roof repairs and other housing-related benefits;
(G) The
board finds that it has expended public funds to provide summer programs
for children residing in the county and to fund medical care for indigent
residents; and
(H) The
board finds that it is in the public interest to require that employers
benefiting from the opportunity to do business in the county pay employees
a living wage that is adequate to meet the basic needs of living in
the county.
(Ordinance 2014-01 adopted 2/25/14)
(A) Except as provided in subsection
(B) below, the living wage paid to an employee shall be ten dollars and sixty-six cents ($10.66) per hour. Beginning March 1, 2015, and each year thereafter, the living wage shall be adjusted upward by an amount corresponding to the previous year’s increase, if any, in the consumer price index for the Western Region for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. The county shall post the living wage established by this chapter on the county’s website after this chapter becomes effective and prior to each adjustment of the living wage.
(B) An
employer shall pay an employee who customarily and regularly receives
more than thirty dollars ($30.00) a month in tips and/or commissions:
(2) An amount determined by subtracting from the living wage both the
base wage and the tips and commissions actually received by an employee;
provided that, if the result of this calculation is less than zero,
no additional wages are due under this subsection.
Until January 1, 2015, the base wage is the minimum cash wage
that must be paid to tipped employees under the federal Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C., chapter 8. Commencing on January
1, 2015, the base wage shall be thirty percent of the living wage
established by this chapter. On January 1, 2015 the base wage rate
shall be three dollars and twenty cents ($3.20) per hour. Thereafter,
the base wage shall increase simultaneous with each living wage increase.
Tips received by an employee shall be determined in accordance with
the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C., chapter 8,
and implementing regulations.
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(Ordinance 2014-01 adopted 2/25/14; Ordinance 2014-05 adopted 5/27/14)
It shall be unlawful for any employer or employer’s agent
or representative to discharge, demote, deny promotion to or in any
way discriminate against an employee in the terms or conditions of
employment in retaliation for the person asserting a claim or right
pursuant to this chapter or assisting another person to do so.
(Ordinance 2014-01 adopted 2/25/14)
(A) A person
violating this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction, may be punished in accordance with NMSA 1978, section
4-37-3 (1975) (as amended). A person violating any of the requirements
of this chapter shall be guilty of a separate offense for each day
or portion thereof and for each worker or person as to which any such
violation has occurred. This chapter may be enforced by a duly authorized
code enforcement officer.
(B) The
county, any individual aggrieved by a violation of this chapter, or
any entity whose members have been aggrieved by a violation of this
chapter, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction
to restrain, correct, abate or remedy any violation of this chapter
and, upon prevailing, shall be entitled to such legal or equitable
relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without
limitation, reinstatement, the payment of any wages due, an additional
amount as liquidated damages equal to twice the amount of any wages
due, injunctive relief, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
(C) The
remedies provided in this chapter are not exclusive, and nothing in
this chapter shall preclude any person from seeking any other remedies,
penalties, or relief provided by law.
(Ordinance 2014-01 adopted 2/25/14)
Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to nor shall be applied
in such a manner so as to have a constitutionally prohibited effect
as an ex post facto law or impairment of an existing contract within
the meaning of New Mexico Constitution, article II, section 19.
(Ordinance 2014-01 adopted 2/25/14)