On January 1 New Mexico once again welcomed a rise in the “state minimum wage”. The new rate is $11.50 per hour, up $1.00 an hour from 2021’s base salary of $10.50
All New Mexican workers, other than those who hold one of several limited categories of jobs that are exempted from the pay scale, are entitled to receive this new hourly rate. According to Minimum-Wage.org., categories exempted from the minimum wage include “tipped employees, some student workers, and other exempt occupations.” To break it down in even more detail the list includes, “minors under 18, students working after school hours, domestic workers, government employees, farm workers, and certain seasonal employees.”
When it comes to the current minimum wage for tipped employees, the rate is $2.80 per hour. An increase to $3.00 per hour will happen on January 1, 2023.
Some cities and counties in New Mexico – Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Santa Fe, as well as Bernalillo County and Santa Fe County – have adopted minimum wages higher than those that are required by the state.
Federal Minimum Wage vs. New Mexico’s Minimum Wage
New Mexico’s new minimum wage is significantly higher than the Federal Minimum Wage of $7.25 per hour. However, President Joe Biden, supported by some federal lawmakers including Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), favors an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15.00 per hour.
President Biden and Senator Sanders are not the only politicians concerned about the federal minimum wage. Republicans and Democrats alike support higher salaries for workers. However, some feel that $15.00 per hour is too much. As an example Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) think a $10.00 minimum wage is more realistic. The two developed a plan in 2021 for a $10 minimum wage; however, congressional leaders have taken no action to enact the Cotton/Romney program.
New Mexico’s most recent minimum wage increase is step three in a four-year progressive plan that Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law on April 1, 2019. The 2019 legislation marks the first time the New Mexico statewide minimum wage has been changed since 2009.
In an April 2, 2019 press release the governor’s office announced that “more than 100,000 New Mexicans stand to benefit from the escalating phased-in raises….” The first raise on January 1, 2020 was from $7.50 per hour to $9.00, a healthy increase for New Mexicans who hold low paying jobs. The final scheduled minimum wage increase to $12.00 will take place on January 1, 2023.
Lea County Salaries
In Lea County many jobs already pay significantly more than the minimum $11.50 per hour required by New Mexico’s new law, and these current rates are going up.
A perfect example is the long list of pay raises for Lea County employees that the Board of Commissioners approved in mid-November 2021. Workers in several departments, offices and the dispatch center of the Lea County Communications Authority (LCCA) are benefiting from these significant salary hikes.
According to Lea County Manager Mike Gallagher in a November 18, 2021 video posted on Facebook, non-certified county detention officers are receiving a pay raise from a starting wage of $15.00 per hour to a starting wage of $20.00 per hour. “For certified detention officers it’s going from $16.28 up to $26.00,” said Gallagher.
Pay is also up for Sheriff’s Office deputies. Non-certified deputies, who in November of 2021 started at $19.15 per hour, now make $22.00 per hour, and the starting salary for certified deputies is now $28.00 per hour.
The county has also increased the starting rate for Road Department employees. According to Gallagher, the new rate for non-CDL operators is $22.00, up seven dollars an hour. CDL operators also have seen a big increase from $17.08 to $26.00 per hour.
The county’s Environmental Department workers’ salaries are up five dollars an hour from $15.00 to $20.00. Dispatchers are also realizing a significant pay increase from a little over $16.00 to $22.00 per hour. Probation and Compliance Officers salaries are now $26.00 per hour, up over six dollars an hour.
Many corporate and private businesses in Lea County also pay workers more than the state-required minimum wage. Oil patch workers in Lea County can expect hourly wages significantly greater than the state’s new minimum wage.
Job postings at Indeed.com show hourly starting salaries at $17.00 per hour for a “warehouse associate” and $33.00 per hour for a “pipeline operator”. Statistics posted at Salaries.com state “The average Oil Field Welders salary in Hobbs, NM is $59,933 as of December 27, 2021, but the salary range typically falls between $52,438 and $69,488. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession.”
The list goes on and on about specific hourly wages in Lea County. The one thing that is certain is that the oil and gas industry pumps solid revenue into the county, its municipalities, its businesses and its workers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For the most part, this revenue allows county residents to receive well paying compensation. It, additionally, allows county and local governments, as well as area businesses, the ability to pay those on their workforces salaries higher than what the State of New Mexico requires.
Photo by Karolina Grabowska // Pexels
