暗黑爆料 brief
On July 1, New Mexico will join a handful of other Mountain West states that require paid sick leave.
Throughout the region, Colorado and Arizona already have paid sick leave; Nevada has a broader paid leave law.
鈥淯ltimately, what I would love to see is with enough state action that we would get something passed on a federal level, some federal protections, like we saw for the pandemic. It鈥檚 possible,鈥� said Miles Tokunow, deputy director of in New Mexico. The nonprofit advocates for issues impacting working families.
The New Mexico says employees of private businesses can accrue at least one hour of paid sick leave per 30 hours worked, or 64 hours of earned sick leave per year.
Laws in and have similar rates. law is not limited to sick leave. Employees get an hour of paid leave about every 50 hours worked.
鈥淢ost importantly, I think, is the recognition that the issues of workers are public health issues,鈥� Tokunow said.
At the time of the New Mexico law鈥檚 signing in April 2021, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a that it was 鈥渁 humane policy for workers鈥�.
鈥淣o one should ever be compelled to come to work when they are sick,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd no worker should ever feel they must choose between their health and their livelihood.鈥�
show paid sick leave can reduce contagious disease. But some small businesses say the financial burden is too much.
鈥淭he pandemic has shown us how all of our healths are intertwined,鈥� Tokunow said.
This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau is provided in part by the .
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