A task force assigned to develop a plan that requires workers to receive paid family and medical leave (PFML) is ready to present its proposal to New Mexico lawmakers.
Tracy McDaniel, policy advocate for the Southwest Women’s Law Center, told KRQE the task force has discussed giving New Mexico workers 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave.
Currently, many employees in the state do not get paid for days off to have a baby or care for a sick family member, according to the KRQE report.
“Some of the discussions that have come up that we have talked about, for instance, our definition of family; we’ve talked about the maximum length of leave; what are the causes for leave; and really looked at a number of different issues,” McDaniel said.
Employees would contribute half a percent of their earnings, about $5 for every thousand they make, McDaniel said. Employers would match 80% of that.
The concept of a state law for paid family and medical leave has been discussed for 20 years, according to the report. A similar bill was proposed to the legislature last year, but it stalled, despite a report it would bring in around $400 million a year while paying out close to $300 million.
Nine other states have passed PFML laws, and local businesses are generally in favor of some type of PFML plan.
“I’m a big supporter of it,” Kevin Adams, co-owner of Squidly Store told KRQE.” I feel that businesses as they continue to grow, rely on other people to do the work for those people meaning that they’re a very big part of that business.”
Chris Losack, manager of Astro Zombies, said the requirements could be a strain on small businesses.
“We definitely need some kind of protection for families and medical care and things of that nature,” he said. “It’s tough on a small business, however, to do those kind of things when we’re constantly not making as much money as some of the larger corporations are.”
The task force proposals will go before legislators Oct. 1. If passed, in 2023, they’ll become law in 2026. In the proposal last year, companies that already offer at least three months of PFML could get exemptions to keep running their own programs, according to KRQE.