When hiring workers in New Mexico, it is important to ensure that your handbook complies with both federal and New Mexico employee handbook requirements. While employers aren’t required to create and distribute employee handbooks, they are required to implement and comply with a variety of policies in the workplace, and handbooks can help. Your employee handbook introduces the company to new employees, provides essential information on expectations, outlines policies and procedures, and reduces potential legal liabilities.
However, if your New Mexico employee handbook policies do not align with state or federal laws, your company could face significant risks. Designing state-specific employee handbooks can be a time-consuming and expensive process, especially when hiring employees in multiple states.
Thankfully, SixFifty’s Employment Docs provides valuable assistance to employers by simplifying state and federal compliance, making the research and drafting process more efficient and cost-effective.
Here’s what you need to know about creating your own customized, compliant New Mexico employee handbooks.
Required New Mexico employee handbook policies
New Mexico requires employers to implement and comply with nine state-specific policies:
- Domestic Violence Leave
- Emergency Responder and Civil Air Patrol Leave
- Equal Employment Opportunity
- Jury Duty Leave
- Lactation Accommodation Policy
- Paid Leave for Any Reason (Bernalillo County)
- Sick Leave
- Smoking Policy
- Voting Leave
These policies must be included in every New Mexico employee handbook, regardless of company size, type, industry, and other factors.
Optional New Mexico employee handbook policies
In addition to the nine required employee handbook policies, employers may choose to include optional policies like these:
- Affinity Group Policy
- Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Policy
- Arbitration Policy
- At-Will Employment Policy
- Background Check Policy
- COBRA Policy
- Cell Phone Policy
- Code of Conduct Policy
- Business Expense Policy
- Company Property Policy
- Confidentiality and Trade Secrets Policy
- Desk Hoteling Policy
- Direct Deposit Policy
- Dress Code Policy
- Drug and Alcohol Abuse Policy
- Electronic Devices While Driving Policy
- Employee Benefits Policy
- Employee Classification Policy
- Employee Dating Policy
- Employee References Policy
- Employment of Relatives Policy
- Exit Interview Policy
- Gifts Policy
- Health and Safety Policy
- Home Office Reimbursement Policy
- Job Duties Policy
- Key or Access Card Policy
- Holidays
- Immigration Law Compliance
- Cannabis Policy
- Off-Duty Use of Facilities
- Outside Employment Policy
- Leave Policies, including: Paid Sick Leave; Parental Leave; Bereavement Leave; Organ, Bone Marrow, and Blood Donor Leave; Crime Victim Leave; Witness Duty Leave; Civil Service Leave; School Activity Leave
- Overtime Policy
- Payment of Wages Policy
- Payroll Deductions Policy
- Performance Review Policy
- Personnel Files Policy
- Pets in the Workplace Policy
- Progressive Discipline Policy
- Public Relations Policy
- Punctuality and Attendance Policy
- Record Retention Policy
- Remote Working Policy
- Salary Pay Policy
- Smoking Policy
- Social Media Policy
- Solicitation and Distribution of Literature Policy
- Technology Systems Policy
- Temporary Relocation Policy
- Timekeeping Policy
- Vacation/Paid Time Off
- Video Conferencing Policy
- Weapons in the Workplace
- Workers’ Compensation Policy
- Workplace Violence Policy
- Workplace Visitor Policy
- Workweek and Work Schedules Policy
Note that not every optional policy will be suitable for your organization. For example, if your New Mexico employees are exclusively remote workers, you probably won’t need policies regarding off-duty use of facilities or pets in the workplace.
Required federal employee handbook policies
If you choose to create an employee handbook, you should include these policies that are required by federal employment law:
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (15+ Employees)
- Employment and Anti-Discrimination Policy
- Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Policy (50 Employees)
- Jury Duty Leave
- Military Service Leave
- Sexual Harassment Policy
- Lactation Accommodation Policy
- Religious Accommodations Policy
Employers in all 50 states are required to implement these policies, in addition to any that are required by the specific state(s) in which they have employees. Therefore, all of your employee handbooks should contain these federal policies (if your organization meets the 50-employee requirement for the FMLA Policy).
How to create a New Mexico employee handbook
Creating a New Mexico employee handbook can be challenging. Developing state-specific handbooks requires extensive research and drafting to adhere to state and federal employment laws. Non-compliance with the law could expose your organization to legal risk.
Some employers opt to hire attorneys to draft their handbooks, a safer choice. However, if you’re hiring in multiple states, billable hours can quickly add up. Alternatively, using online templates might be considered, but it comes with risks. One-size-fits-all templates may not cover all required state policies or use appropriate language.
Here’s where SixFifty’s Employment Docs comes in. Instead of handling the research and drafting on your own, hiring a lawyer, or relying on templates, our employee handbook creator enables you to create your customized, state-specific employee handbooks that fully comply with New Mexico employee handbook requirements. The platform assists employers throughout the entire employment life cycle, from crafting offer letters and handbooks to separation agreements and offboarding documents. Employment Docs ensures the production of top-tier employment documents, including handbooks that meet all New Mexico employee handbook requirements. Additionally, our legal team monitors changes to employment legislation nationwide. If any new developments arise, we’ll notify you so you can update your handbooks accordingly.
Ready to learn more? Schedule a demo today!
Looking to create an employee handbook for a different state? View our interactive map for required employee handbook policies by state.
