Bill > SB375

This bill, titled the "New Mexico Family Act," establishes a statewide paid family and medical leave program to allow workers to take up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave per year to care for themselves or a family member with a serious health condition, bond with a new child (biological, adopted, or foster), or address a serious health condition that prevents them from performing their job duties. The Act defines key terms such as "child," "domestic partner," "employee," "employer," and "serious health condition," and requires employers to maintain health insurance coverage for employees on leave and to restore them to their previous or an equivalent position upon return. To fund this program, the bill introduces a new "family and medical leave income tax" and a "family and medical leave corporate income tax," both at a rate of two-tenths of a percent, with a portion of the revenue directed to a newly created "family and medical leave compensation fund" administered by the workforce solutions department, which will provide a daily benefit to eligible employees after the fifth day of unpaid leave, capped at forty-two times the daily benefit per year. Employers are also required to post notices about the Act, and violations can result in civil penalties. The tax provisions are set to take effect for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2018, while the leave provisions and funding mechanisms become effective on July 1, 2018, with rulemaking to begin earlier.