Several cities and counties across New Mexico have recently increased the minimum wage that must be paid to employees working within their jurisdictions. The statewide minimum wage is $7.50 per hour, with a tipped employee wage of $2.13. See NMSA 1978, 50-4-22. However, New Mexico allows local regulation of minimum wage and some jurisdictions have ordinances in place that implement higher minimum wages than the state-mandated floor. The following recently raised their local minimum wage:

• City of Albuquerque: The minimum wage increased from $7.75 to $7.80 per hour, if the employer provides and pays for healthcare and/or childcare benefits equal to or in excess of an annualized cost of $2,500. For employees whose employers do not provide such benefits, the minimum wage increased to $8.80. The tipped employee wage increased to $5.30. See Albuquerque Code of Ordinances, 13-12-1 et seq.
• Bernalillo County: The minimum wage increased from $8.65 to $8.70 per hour, for employees not in receipt of healthcare and/or childcare benefits equal to or in excess of an annualized cost of $2,500. The tipped wage remains at the state level of $2.13. The Bernalillo County Minimum Wage Ordinance took effect July 1, 2014, and requires the County Commission to vote on whether to implement a cost of living increase for the following year. See Bernalillo County Ordinance, Sec. 2-218 et seq.
• City of Las Cruces: The minimum wage increased from $8.40 to $9.20 per hour. In 2015, Las Cruces approved the ordinance, which increases the minimum wage incrementally every two years to eventually reach $10.10 on January 1, 2019. Beginning January 1, 2018, and each year thereafter, the wage may increase based on cost of living. See City of Las Cruces Municipal Code, Sec. 14-60 et seq.

The following jurisdictions will increase their local minimum wage this March, based on adjustments to the Consumer Price Index for the Western Region for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers:

• City of Santa Fe: Covered employers will be required to pay employees an hourly wage of $11.09 per hour, an increase from $10.91 per hour. See City of Santa Fe City Code 28-1 et seq. The City of Santa Fe ordinance took effect on January 1, 2004.
• Santa Fe County: Employers will be required to pay employees an hourly wage of $11.09 per hour, an increase from $10.91 per hour. See Santa Fe County Ordinance No. 2014-1. In addition, employers will be required to pay a tipped wage of $3.32. The Santa Fe County ordinance took effect on April 24, 2014.

Those numbers could increase even more in 2018 if any of the following three Democrat-led statewide initiatives are successful:

1. House Bill 27 sponsored by Rep. Patricia Caballero (D-Bernalillo) seeks a statewide increase to $15 per hour effective January 1, 2018. See here. On January 1 of each successive year, the state minimum wage would automatically increase to account for a cost of living increase using a percentage set by the United States Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index for all urban customers (CPI-U). The bill also would eliminate the lower minimum wage provision for employees who customarily and regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips. HB 27 has been sent to the House Judiciary Committee and the House Business and Industry Committee.
2. House Bill 67 sponsored by Rep. Miguel Garcia (D-Bernalillo) seeks an increase to $10.10 over three years. See here. HB 67 also calls for a cost of living increase of the previous year’s minimum wage rate using the percentage tied to the CPI-U. HB 67 would modify the lower minimum wage provision for tipped employees from $2.13 per hour to a rate that is 40 percent of the state minimum wage for non-tipped employees. On January 25, 2017, the bill narrowly won on a recommendation of approval and now heads to the House Business and Industry Committee — the last hearing needed before going to the House floor.
3. Senate Bill 36 pre-filed by Sen. Bill Soules (D-Doña Ana) seeks an increase to $8.45 per hour, followed by annual adjustment based on the cost of living on January 1 of each successive year to be set by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions based upon the CPI-U, and rounded to the nearest multiple of five cents. See here. SB 36 would provide for an exception for small businesses, allowing employers with 10 or fewer employees to continue to pay the current $7.50 hourly minimum wage, adjusted annually on January 1 of each following year, if there is a cost of living increase. SB 36 also includes a trainee exception which would permit employers with 10 or more employees to pay trainees a minimum wage of $7.50 per hour for the first six months of employment, again with that rate subject to a cost of living increase on January 1 of each following year. SB 36 would also increase the minimum wage for tipped employees to $2.65 per hour, to be adjusted annually. The proposal has been referred to two committees.

Employers should review the jurisdiction(s) in which they operate within New Mexico to ensure they are paying the correct minimum wage. They should also continue to monitor political developments in New Mexico as the three minimum wage proposals discussed above make their way through the political process.