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Committee approves amendment to clarify earned-sick-leave call-in rules for regulated employers
Summary
Lawmakers approved a committee substitute for House Bill 415 to clarify notification rules under the Healthy Workplaces Act, allowing employers to rely on a written call-in policy or, in its absence, the existing "as soon as practicable" standard. Committee gave the bill a do-pass as amended, 9-0.
Representative Duncan sponsored House Bill 415, which would clarify notification requirements when employees use earned sick leave under the Healthy Workplaces Act. Supporters described the change as procedural: it would allow employers to set a written call-in policy and require employees to follow that policy for unforeseeable absences; if an employer has no written policy, the law’s existing "as soon as practicable" standard would apply.
Barbara Tedrow, a Farmington child-care provider and policy chair for the New Mexico Early Childhood Association, told the committee child-care centers must meet strict staffing and certification rules and that short-notice call-ins create immediate compliance and safety risks. “Child care centers operate under the licensing rules set by the early childhood and education care department, which requires specific teacher to child ratios and a minimum number of CPR first aid certified staff to be on-site at all times,” she testified. Tedrow said centers gave employees notice requirements in handbooks before the Healthy Workplaces Act but lack enforcement power under current law; HB 415 aims to let employers require compliance with a written call-in policy while preserving employees’ sick-leave rights.
Business groups including the National Federation of Independent Business and health-care providers supported the amendment as aligning statute with common employer handbooks and giving regulated employers time to arrange coverage. Department of Workforce Solutions staff described themselves as supportive-to-neutral and said the lack of clarity in the current statute creates operational friction; they offered to help employers draft reasonable policies.
Opponents—including workers, immigrant-advocacy groups and the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty—warned the change could create barriers that make it harder for employees to use earned sick leave. Jacqueline Gibson of a workers’ organization said the law is “not broken” and warned against weakening access to the earned benefit. Stephanie Welch of the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty said the bill “would invite employers to impose new barriers and block workers' ability to take their earned leave.”
Committee discussion focused on whether the provision should place written policies first and revert to the “as soon as practicable” standard only when no policy exists. Representative Duncan accepted a friendly amendment aligning the bill with language from the fiscal impact report that would read: "pursuant to the written policy of the employer or, in the absence of written policy, as soon as practicable." The committee voted 9-0 in favor of the bill as amended; the clerk recorded a final tally of nine yes votes and zero no votes.
Lawmakers and witnesses said the amendment is intended to preserve employee protections while giving regulated employers—child care, home health and emergency services—clear, enforceable notice expectations to manage minimum-staffing legal mandates.
