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Minimum Wage in New MexicoNew Mexico Minimum Wage Finder
  
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87101
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For detailed information about the minimum wage in your county, please enter your ZIP code. This will direct you to a page providing tailored information about the minimum wage in your area.
New Mexico Minimum Wage
     
                   Bernalillo County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Albuquerque)  FIPS: 35001                 - pop.676,444               
             
                   Dona Ana County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Las Cruces)  FIPS: 35013                 - pop.219,561               
             
                   Santa Fe County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Santa Fe)  FIPS: 35049                 - pop.154,823               
             
                   Sandoval County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Bernalillo)  FIPS: 35043                 - pop.148,834               
             
                   San Juan County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Aztec)  FIPS: 35045                 - pop.121,661               
             
                   Valencia County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Los Lunas)  FIPS: 35061                 - pop.76,205               
             
                   Lea County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Lovington)  FIPS: 35025                 - pop.74,455               
             
                   McKinley County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Gallup)  FIPS: 35031                 - pop.72,902               
             
                   Otero County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Alamogordo)  FIPS: 35035                 - pop.67,839               
             
                   Chaves County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Roswell)  FIPS: 35005                 - pop.65,157               
             
                   Eddy County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Carlsbad)  FIPS: 35015                 - pop.62,314               
             
                   Curry County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Clovis)  FIPS: 35009                 - pop.48,430               
             
                   Rio Arriba County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Tierra Amarilla)  FIPS: 35039                 - pop.40,363               
             
                   Taos County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Taos)  FIPS: 35055                 - pop.34,489               
             
                   Grant County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Silver City)  FIPS: 35017                 - pop.28,185               
             
                   San Miguel County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Las Vegas)  FIPS: 35047                 - pop.27,201               
             
                   Cibola County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Grants)  FIPS: 35006                 - pop.27,172               
             
                   Luna County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Deming)  FIPS: 35029                 - pop.25,427               
             
                   Lincoln County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Carrizozo)  FIPS: 35027                 - pop.20,269               
             
                   Los Alamos County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Los Alamos)  FIPS: 35028                 - pop.19,419               
             
                   Roosevelt County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Portales)  FIPS: 35041                 - pop.19,191               
             
                   Socorro County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Socorro)  FIPS: 35053                 - pop.16,595               
             
                   Torrance County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Estancia)  FIPS: 35057                 - pop.15,045               
             
                   Colfax County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Raton)  FIPS: 35007                 - pop.12,387               
             
                   Sierra County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Truth Or Consequences)  FIPS: 35051                 - pop.11,576               
             
                   Quay County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Tucumcari)  FIPS: 35037                 - pop.8,746               
             
                   Guadalupe County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Santa Rosa)  FIPS: 35019                 - pop.4,452               
             
                   Mora County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Mora)  FIPS: 35033                 - pop.4,189               
             
                   Hidalgo County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Lordsburg)  FIPS: 35023                 - pop.4,178               
             
                   Union County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Clayton)  FIPS: 35059                 - pop.4,079               
             
                   Catron County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Reserve)  FIPS: 35003                 - pop.3,579               
             
                   De Baca County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Fort Sumner)  FIPS: 35011                 - pop.1,698               
             
                   Harding County Minimum Wage
               
               County Seat: (Mosquero)  FIPS: 35021                 - pop.657

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New Mexico Wage & Hour Resources

Minimum Wage In New Mexico

The minimum wage in New Mexico is $12 an hour. Because this is higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25, employees in The Land of Enchantment must be paid at least $12 an hour. A handful of local governments in New Mexico have passed their own minimum wage ordinances.

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What Is the Minimum Wage in New Mexico?

What Is the Minimum Wage in New Mexico?

The minimum wage in New Mexico is $12 an hour. Because this is higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25, employees in The Land of Enchantment must be paid at least $12 an hour. A handful of local governments in New Mexico have passed their own minimum wage ordinances.

The minimum wage is the least you can be paid per hour, by law. You are entitled to earn at least the highest minimum wage that applies to you, whether the standard is federal, state, or local. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25. If your city or state has passed a law setting a higher minimum wage, your employer must pay you at least that higher amount per hour; it cannot pay you the lower federal minimum wage instead.

The minimum wage represents gross earnings: earnings before deductions, such as tax withholding, are taken. Your actual take-home pay may be less than the minimum wage.
Who Earns Overtime in New Mexico?
Who Earns Overtime in New Mexico?
You qualify for overtime pay if:
- you are paid by the hour
- you are not exempt (for example, because you hold a “white collar” job), and
- you work over 40 hours in a workweek (or 8 hours in a workday in some states).
If you are eligible for overtime, you are entitled to 1-1/2 times your regular hourly rate for each overtime hour worked. Check the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions for the overtime standards in New Mexico.

For more information about overtime eligibility, see Am I Entitled to Overtime Pay in New Mexico?
How Do I Calculate My Hourly Wage?

How Do I Calculate My Hourly Wage?

To calculate your hourly wage, take the total amount you are paid (whether by the hour, as a salary, by piece rate, or on commission) in a pay period, such as one workweek. Divide that total amount by the total number of regular time (not overtime) hours you worked to earn that money. Be sure to count every hour you worked, including time spent working from home (if allowed by your employer) and any break time for which you should be paid, including breaks that lasted 20 minutes or less and breaks during which you had to work. The hourly rate that you come up with must be at least the minimum wage in New Mexico.

For more information about your pay rights, see What Are My Rights to Pay for Work in New Mexico?
What Is a Tip Credit?

What Is a Tip Credit?

A tip credit is the amount of tips you earn that your employer can count towards its obligation to pay you the minimum wage.

An employer that is allowed to take a tip credit can pay you less than the regular minimum wage, as long as you earn enough in tips to bring your hourly compensation up to at least the minimum wage. Under federal law, for example, the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, but employers may pay tipped employees as little as $2.13 an hour, as long as the employee earns at least the rest in tips. An employer taking advantage of this lower minimum wage is taking a tip credit of $5.12 an hour.

Not all states allow employers to take a tip credit. Some states that allow a tip credit set the minimum tipped wage amount at $2.13 an hour, like federal law; others have established a higher tipped minimum wage.
In New Mexico, your employer may pay you a minimum wage of $3 an hour, as long as you earn enough in tips to bring your total hourly pay up to the full minimum wage, $12 an hour. If you don’t earn enough in tips to bring your compensation to the full minimum wage, your employer must make up the difference.
Are Tip Pools Legal?
Are Tip Pools Legal?
Does your employer require you to pool tips? Tip pooling, sometimes called tip sharing or tipping out, is a common practice in establishments where only some employees receive tips directly from customers, especially restaurants.

In a tip pool, tipped employees put a certain amount or percentage of their tips into a pot, which is then shared among a group of employees. Whether a tip pool is legal depends on who shares in the pool, among other things.

The general rule is that tips belong to the employee who received them. However, employees can be required to pay part of their tips into a tip sharing arrangement, as long as it meets these legal requirements:
- The employer may not share in the tip pool. This includes managers and supervisors. If managers and supervisors receive their own tips for services they directly and solely provide to customers, they may contribute a portion of those tips to the tip pool, but they may not take any money from the pool.
- If the employer takes a tip credit, then only employees who regularly and customarily receive tips may share in the tip pool. For example, wait staff, bussers, and bartenders may be part of the tip pool, but "back of the house" employees -- like cooks and dishwashers -- may not. (Employers that don't take a tip credit may allow back of the house employees to take a share of the tip pool, but only if state law allows it.)
- Only the amount of tips an employee actually takes home counts towards any employer tip credit. In other words, if an employee has to share tips, the employee's hourly wage includes only what the employee got back from the tip pool, not what the employee had to put into the pot.
Am I Entitled to Breaks?

Am I Entitled to Breaks?

Believe it or not, employers in many states have no legal obligation to give their employees any breaks during the work day. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require employers to provide any breaks, and many states follow the same rule. Other states require employers to provide rest breaks, meal breaks, or both.

A small number of states require employers to provide paid rest breaks during the work day.
New Mexico law does not require employers to offer meal breaks. If your employer chooses to give employees meal breaks, you are not entitled to be paid for that time as long as your break lasts for more than 20 minutes and you don’t have to do any work during your break.
New Mexico law does not require employers to provide rest breaks. If your employer chooses to let employees take rest breaks, it must pay you for breaks that last for 20 minutes or less.
How Can I Enforce My Wage and Hour Rights?
How Can I Enforce My Wage and Hour Rights?
If your employer hasn't paid you overtime, hasn't given you legally required breaks, didn't give you a final paycheck, or has otherwise not paid you everything you are owed, you should take steps to assert your rights. There are three things you can do:
- Complain within your company. Use your company's internal complaint process to raise your concerns. Ask the company to investigate and make the situation right. The law protects you from employer retaliation for asserting your wage and hour rights.
- File a wage claim. If your company doesn't resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, find out whether your state has an administrative wage claim procedure. In most states, you can file a claim with the state agency that enforces wage and hour laws. Your claim may be investigated, settled, or sent to an administrative hearing, where you can present evidence that you were not paid properly. It's a good idea to talk to an employment lawyer if you are considering filing a wage claim. A lawyer can help you word the complaint properly, present your best evidence persuasively, and reach the best possible outcome -- all while preserving your arguments for court, if things don't work out.
- File a lawsuit. If other avenues don't work, you can sue your employer in state or federal court for wage theft. At this point, you will definitely need legal representation to persuade a judge or jury to enter a judgment in your favor.
What Is a Wage Claim?

What Is a Wage Claim?

A wage claim is an administrative complaint you can make against your employer with your state department of labor. Most states have created a process for employees to file a wage claim with a government agency, so they can get their claims adjudicated and get the money they are owed, in less time and for less money than it would cost to file a lawsuit.

Not every state has a wage claim procedure, however.

Check the website of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions to learn more.
Do I Need a Lawyer for My Overtime or Wage Case?

Do I Need a Lawyer for My Overtime or Wage Case?

In most cases, it makes sense to hire a lawyer to pursue your overtime or unpaid wage claim. This doesn’t mean you should hire a lawyer at the first sign of trouble, however. If you believe your employer hasn’t paid you fairly, start by raising the issue within your company. Ask your manager or your human resource representative about the problem, or file a complaint using your company’s internal complaint process. It is illegal for your employer to retaliate against you for making a wage and hour complaint, whether you make it within your company or to an outside agency or court.

If your company does nothing to address your concerns – or breaks the law by firing or disciplining you for asserting your rights – then it’s time to talk to a lawyer. At this point, your options are to negotiate a settlement of your claims with your employer, file a wage claim against your employer with your state’s labor department (if your state has this type of procedure), or file a lawsuit. Having a lawyer will greatly boost your chances of success in any of these endeavors. And, because most lawyers work on a contingency fee basis in these types of cases, you won’t have to pay the lawyer unless you win. Learn more about finding a wage and hour lawyer.
How Do Wage and Hour Lawyers Charge?

How Do Wage and Hour Lawyers Charge?

Most lawyers that represent employees charge a contingency fee. This means the lawyer gets paid only if the client wins, and only out of the money the client receives as a settlement or court award. When you meet with a lawyer, ask how the lawyer charges, including what percentage he or she will take as a contingency fee.

You will most likely have to pay the costs of litigation, including court fees, transcription costs, copying costs, and so on. Some attorneys will advance these costs for you, paying them out of pocket until the end of the case. If you win, you can use your award to pay the costs.
What Is a Class Action Lawsuit?

What Is a Class Action Lawsuit?

A class action lawsuit is a court case brought on behalf of a group of employees who have similar legal claims against their employer. In a class action case, one lawsuit decides the rights of all employees who are members of the class.

It’s not uncommon for overtime and unpaid wage cases to be brought as class action lawsuits, if the employer applied an illegal policy to a group of employees. For example, if a retail employer required all employees to arrive at 8:30 a.m., spend half an hour cleaning the store and restocking shelves, and then clock in (and start to get paid) at 9 a.m., an attorney might bring a class action lawsuit on behalf of all employees who were subjected to this policy.

Many wage and hour cases involve relatively small dollar amounts. Although every dollar you aren’t paid is undoubtedly very important to you, the overall value of your case might not be high enough to interest an attorney in representing you. When a number of employees combine in one lawsuit, the attorney can bring all of your claims at the same time and earn a higher fee.

Minimum Wage in New Mexico

New Mexico Minimum Wage Finder

New Mexico Minimum Wage

Bernalillo County Minimum Wage

Dona Ana County Minimum Wage

Santa Fe County Minimum Wage

Sandoval County Minimum Wage

San Juan County Minimum Wage

Valencia County Minimum Wage

Lea County Minimum Wage

McKinley County Minimum Wage

Otero County Minimum Wage

Chaves County Minimum Wage

Eddy County Minimum Wage

Curry County Minimum Wage

Rio Arriba County Minimum Wage

Taos County Minimum Wage

Grant County Minimum Wage

San Miguel County Minimum Wage

Cibola County Minimum Wage

Luna County Minimum Wage

Lincoln County Minimum Wage

Los Alamos County Minimum Wage

Roosevelt County Minimum Wage

Socorro County Minimum Wage

Torrance County Minimum Wage

Colfax County Minimum Wage

Sierra County Minimum Wage

Quay County Minimum Wage

Guadalupe County Minimum Wage

Mora County Minimum Wage

Hidalgo County Minimum Wage

Union County Minimum Wage

Catron County Minimum Wage

De Baca County Minimum Wage

Harding County Minimum Wage

New Mexico City Minimum Wage

Albuquerque, NM Minimum Wage

Las Cruces, NM Minimum Wage

Santa Fe, NM Minimum Wage