HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAUCUS MEMBERS EXPRESS SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH'S NEW OVERTIME PAY POLICY FOR ONLY  NON-UNION EMPLOYEES

SANTA FE, NM — Today, the entire House Republican Caucus (24 members) sent a letter to New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) Cabinet Secretary Patrick M. Allen expressing serious concerns regarding a new overtime compensation policy that eliminates overtime pay for non-union health care employees at the department's 24/7 residential care facilities.  This new policy, which DOH claims is necessary to address a financial deficit in DOH's facility management program, would result in non-union health employees receiving "comp time" for overtime hours, while union employees would continue to receive actual overtime pay.

House Republican Caucus Chair Gail Armstrong (R-Magdalena) said, "This new overtime policy is especially harmful to nurses who must currently work overtime shifts because of the lack of nurses at the state's 24/7 facilities.  Without any actual overtime pay, there are grave concerns as to whether sufficient nursing staff will be available to provide the care needed by our state's most vulnerable populations, including veterans, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities."

"This new overtime policy for non-union health care employees will cause major negative impacts in every DOH 24/7 facility.  Many DOH facility employees, including nurses, depend on overtime pay to meet the needs of their families and they will likely begin to look for new jobs, which will only make the current staff shortages at these facilities even worse," said State Representative Luis Terrazas (R-Santa Clara).   "Since New Mexico is experiencing a serious nurse shortage right now, the loss of experienced and dedicated nurses will be difficult to replace and only magnifies the serious consequences this ill-conceived no overtime pay policy for non-union employees will create," added Rep. Terrazas.

Rep. Armstong concluded, "It is vitally important the leadership of DOH immediately reconsider this new overtime pay policy for all non-union health care workers.  The nurses and other hard-working DOH employees at these 24/7 facilities deserve our respect and appreciation, and non—union employees should be provided the exact same level of overtime compensation that union workers receive."

The letter questions the rationale of eliminating overtime pay for non-union health care workers to address a budget deficit in DOH's facility management program considering the Legislature provided nearly $11.3 million in supplemental appropriations during the recent 30-day session to address this shortfall.  The letter also raises concerns about the wisdom of adopting an overtime pay policy that threatens these state facilities' ability to provide essential health care and other services for these facilities' residents in the future.