Minimum Wage Increases Set for City and County of Santa Fe

What is the Minimum Wage in Santa Fe in 2024?

Effective March 1, 2024, the minimum wage rates in the City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County, New Mexico will increase to $14.60.  

The city and county minimum wage rates adjust each year in accordance with the regional increase in inflation, which is calculated based off the percentage increase in the consumer price index (CPI-W) over the last 12 months. The jurisdictions generally announce their upcoming minimum wage changes in the month prior, providing employers a short turnaround time to review and update employee wages.  

Considering this quick turnaround time, employers should review the following key highlights of the local ordinances and upcoming minimum wage changes.  

City vs. County Wage Requirements

While both the City and County of Santa Fe are increasing their standard minimum wage rates to $14.60 on March 1, 2024, there are still differences in their minimum wage requirements. 

Most notably, the City of Santa Fe Living Wage Ordinance states that its minimum wage requirements apply within the Santa Fe city limits while Santa Fe County’s Living Wage Ordinance states that its minimum wage requirements apply only to the unincorporated areas of the county. Thus, the county minimum wage rate does not apply to employers within the three incorporated boundaries of the City of Espanola, the Town of Edgewood, and, of course, the City of Santa Fe.  

As the City of Santa Fe is the only incorporated city that has passed its own minimum wage ordinance, both the City of Espanola and the Town of Edgewood follow the State of New Mexico’s minimum wage law, which currently sets the standard minimum wage to $12.00 and the tipped employee wage to $3.00. 

Tipped Employee Wage Updates

The City and County of Santa Fe also follow different tip requirements. In the City of Santa Fe, any tips received and retained by the employee may be counted toward the city minimum wage requirement if the employee customarily receives more than $100 per month in tips or commissions. While the city does not provide a base wage for tipped workers, employers still need to comply with New Mexico’s tipped employee wage requirements, which has remained at a base wage of $3.00 since Jan. 1, 2023.  

On the other hand, unincorporated Santa Fe County employers must pay tipped employees who customarily receive more than $30 a month in tips or commissions the base wage of at least $4.38 per hour, effective March 1, 2024.  

Posting Requirements

The City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County continue to diverge in their labor law posting requirements.  

Specifically, the City of Santa Fe requires employers to post the Santa Fe Living Wage Ordinance poster in English and Spanish at each workplace and next to the employer’s business license. The posters update each year when the new minimum wage rate is released by Santa Fe’s Office of Economic Development. As such, the GovDocs Update Program is currently shipping new posters out to impacted customer locations.   

Santa Fe County, on the other hand, has previously indicated that it will not update its Santa Fe County Living Wage Posting each year when the minimum wage adjustments are announced for March 1. However, the ordinance specifies that employers must still display a labor law poster in English and Spanish, next to the employer’s business license, and stating that the business is in compliance with Sections 3 and 5 of the minimum wage ordinance.  

While a new poster is not currently shipping for Santa Fe County, employers should still confirm the most updated county posters are displayed at their locations. This step of auditing posting locations is often a hassle, but it can be simplified with supplemental poster display verification solutions. 

Minimum Wage Compliance in New Mexico

The City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County jurisdictions serve as great reminders that tracking minimum wage rate updates is not just a concern for employers in states like California or New York, but also in states like New Mexico.  

Currently, there are two unincorporated county and three city minimum wage ordinances on top of New Mexico’s own minimum wage law that employers need to track, which is why a best practice for ensuring wage and hour compliance includes access to a robust minimum wage management solution. 

This Employment Law News blog is intended for market awareness only, it is not to be used for legal advice or counsel.