New Mexico Adds Military Status to Its Human Rights Act

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Patricia Tsipras

April 23, 2024

New Mexico’s Human Rights Act (Act) currently prohibits discrimination on the basis of many characteristics, including race; age; religion; color; national origin; ancestry; sex; sexual orientation; gender; gender identity; pregnancy, childbirth, or condition related to pregnancy or childbirth; physical or mental disability; serious medical condition; or, if the employer has 50 or more employees, spousal affiliation.

Effective May 15, 2024, New Mexico amended the Act to prohibit discrimination based on military status.  See 2024 N.M. HB 302.

The Act defines “military status” to mean “a person’s active membership in the armed forces or state defense force or being a veteran of the armed forces or state defense force and includes a spouse or child of an active member or veteran of the armed forces or state defense force.”  See N.M. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-2 (EE).

Thus, it will be an unlawful employment practice for

• an employer,[1] unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification or other statutory prohibition, to refuse to hire, to discharge, to promote or demote, or to discriminate in matters of compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment against any person otherwise qualified because of military status
• a labor organization[2] to exclude a person or to expel or otherwise discriminate against any of its members or against any employer or employee because of military status
• any employer, labor organization, or joint apprenticeship committee[3] to refuse to admit or employ any person in any program established to provide an apprenticeship or other training or retraining because of military status
• any person, employer, employment agency, or labor organization to print or circulate, or cause to be printed or circulated, any statement, advertisement, or publication, to use any form of application for employment or membership, or to make any inquiry regarding prospective membership or employment that expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to military status
• an employment agency[4] to refuse to list and properly classify for employment or refer a person for employment in a known available job, for which the person is otherwise qualified, because of military status, or to comply with a request from an employer for referral of applicants for employment if the request indicates, either directly or indirectly, that the employer discriminates in employment on the basis of military status

Employers:  Update your employee handbook and policies accordingly.

*Special thanks to Ava Petrellese, our paralegal, for her contributions to this article.

The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania.  This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, New Mexico, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist.  Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.

[1]              “Employer” means any person employing four or more persons and any person acting for an employer.  See N.M. Stat. Ann. § 28-1-2 (B).

[2]              “Labor organization” means any organization that exists for the purpose in whole or in part of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment or of other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment.  Id. at § 28-1-2 (F).

[3]              “Joint apprenticeship committee” is not defined in the Act.

[4]              “Employment agency” means any person regularly undertaking with or without compensation to procure opportunities to work or to procure, recruit, or refer employees.  Id. at § 28-1-2 (G).