New Mexico Register / Volume XXXVII, Issue 9 / May 5, 2026

This is an amendment to 10.12.7 NMAC, Section 10 effective 5/5/2026.

10.12.7.10 SICK LEAVE:

A. Employees, except those on full-time educational leave with pay, absence without leave, leave without pay, unpaid FMLA leave, or suspension without pay, shall accrue sick leave at the rate of [3.69] 4.00 hours per pay period.

B. Employees employed on a part-time basis and employees on furlough who work at least eight hours in a pay period shall accrue sick leave on a prorated basis.

C. Sick leave may not be used before it is accrued and must be authorized or denied according to department policy.

D. An employee may use sick leave for personal medical treatment or illness or for medical treatment or illness of a relation by blood or marriage within the third degree, or of a person residing in the employee's household. Employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions must be treated the same as persons affected by other medical conditions.

E. There is no limit to the amount of sick leave that may be accrued.

F. No payment shall be made for accrued sick leave at the time of separation from the department except as provided by law.

G. Former employees who were laid off and are returned to work in accordance with the provisions of 10.12.10 NMAC shall have restored the sick leave they had accrued as of the date of layoff.

H. The department may authorize an employee to use accrued sick leave to attend the funeral of a relation by blood or marriage within the third degree, or of a person residing in the employee's household.

I. Payment for accumulated sick leave:

(1) In accordance with the provisions of Section 10-7-10 NMSA 1978, employees who have accumulated 600 hours of unused sick leave are entitled to be paid for unused sick leave in excess of 600 hours at a rate equal to fifty percent of their hourly rate of pay for up to 120 hours of sick leave. Payment for unused sick leave may be made only once per fiscal year on either the payday immediately following the first full pay period in January or the first full pay period in July.

(2) Immediately prior to retirement from the department, employees who have accumulated 600 hours of unused sick leave are entitled to be paid for unused sick leave in excess of 600 hours at a rate equal to fifty percent of their hourly rate for up to 400 hours of sick leave.

[10.12.7.10 NMAC - N, 7/1/2015; A, 5/5/2026]