On April 8, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law the Healthy Workplaces Act, which requires all private employers to provide paid leave to employees that they can use for sick time, safe time, or other reasons for themselves or to care for or assist a broad list of family members, according to an article from law firm Littler Mendelson.

While the law could raise costs for CW programs as staffing providers may pass the cost of the paid time off on to buyers, the law also adds penalties for worker misclassification.

The law will apply to all private employers and to all employees — except employees subject to either Title II (air carriers) of the federal Railway Labor Act or the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. While the law does not apply to independent contractors, it expressly prohibits independent contractor misclassification and provides a sick-leave-related cause of action and damages for misclassifying workers.

Read more about the law, which goes into effect July 1, from Littler Mendelson.

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