Great Seal of the State of New Mexico

State of New Mexico

Public Employee Labor Relations Board

FAQ

  1. Home
  2. FAQ
Trail with hot air balloon and mountains in background

Answering the following questions will help you determine whether the PELRB may be able to assist you.

Are you a public employee?

For the Board to have jurisdiction over you or your issue, you must be employed by a governmental entity such as the State of New Mexico, or a New Mexico county, municipality, school district or institute for higher education formed under the New Mexico Constitution.

Are you a regular, non-probationary employee?

You must also be a regular, non-probationary employee unless you are a regular employee of a public school.

Are you a managerial or supervisory employee, or do you typically act in a confidential capacity to a person who formulates, determines and effectuates management policies?

PEBA excludes managerial, supervisory and confidential employees from its protections, so such employees do not come within the Board’s jurisdiction.

However, “manager”, “supervisor” and “confidential employee” have very particular definitions under PEBA, so mere designation as such by the employer will not control.

See NMSA 10-7E-4. See also Practice Manual and Keyword Digest.

If you DO come within the Board’s jurisdiction based on the foregoing, then ask yourself the following questions.

 

Do you have a job-related question or a problem that involves union representation in any way?

For example:

  1. Do you seek union representation or seek to remove a union as your representative?
  2. Do you think your employer has threatened you or treated you unfairly because you support a union, or because you have acted on behalf of fellow employees with regard to working conditions?
  3. Do you think your union has threatened you or treated you unfairly because you oppose the union, or support a competing union?
  4. Do you think either the union or your employer has violated the Public Employee Bargaining Act (PEBA) or a Collective Bargaining Agreement?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, the Board may be able to help you. For more information, please contact our office.

How can PELRB staff help you?

We are happy to help you whenever we can. However, we must be fair to everyone and so, cannot take sides or give you legal advice. Outlined below are some of the most common ways we can or cannot assist you:

Staff CAN

Staff CANNOT

Encourage you to seek legal advice from a licensed attorney or refer you to another agency that may be able to help you.

Endorse specific lawyers or community resources, or contact them for you.

Refer you to sections of the PEBA and sections of the Board’s Practice Manual that may be relevant to you inquiry.

Perform legal research by applying the law to specific facts or expressing an opinion about what law applies or whether you should file a case.

Provide Board approved forms and instructions without advising any specific course of action.

Create documents for you.

Provide information about what is requested on forms WITHOUT suggesting specific words to put into the forms.

Fill in forms for you.

Provide general information about Board rules, available citations, legal terminology, administrative orders, procedures and practices.

Provide interpretation or application of Board or administrative rules or regulations, constitutional or statutory provisions, legal terminology and case law based on specific facts.

Provide publicly available, non-sequestered information on docketed cases.

Provide you with information that has been restricted by court order, statute, rules or regulations or case law.

Provide general information about Board processes, procedures and practices, including Board schedules and how to get matters scheduled.

Explain Board orders or decisions, or assist or participate in communications with the Director outside the presence of opposing parties.

Provide information about proper conduct when appearing before the Board or one of its Hearing Officers.

Advise you what to say.

If you do not fall within the Board’s jurisdiction, or your question or problem does not appear to be covered under PEBA, another agency may be able to help you. Please see the information and links provided below for more guidance.

Can another agency help you?

If you are a private (non-governmental) employer or employee with a question regarding one of the following areas of law, see these links:

National Labor Relations Board

For a  union-related  question or problem, the National Labor Relations Board, may be able to assist you.

New Mexico Department Workforce Solutions

For a question concerning wages (such as minimum wage, overtime or the collection of unpaid wages and/or vacation pay), child labor laws, your right to review personnel records, or your right to privacy in the work place, the New Mexico Department Workforce Solutions, may be able to assist you.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

For a question concerning health or safety issues in the workplace, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, may be able to assist you.

If you are a public (governmental) employer or employee with a question regarding one of the following areas of law, see these links:

New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions

For a question concerning health or safety issues in the workplace, the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions,  may be able to assist you.

United States Department of Labor

For a question concerning wages or the Fair Labor Standards Act, the United States Department of Labor, may be able to assist you.

If you are either a private or a public employer or employee with a question regarding one of the following areas of law, see these links:

New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions

For a question concerning unemployment compensation, the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, may be able to assist you.

New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions

For a question concerning discrimination because of race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, physical or mental handicap or serious medical condition, or, if, the employer has fifty or more employees, spousal affiliation, the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, may be able to assist you.

New Mexico Human Rights Bureau

The Human Rights Bureau is a neutral agency created to enforce the New Mexico Human Rights Act. The Bureau accepts and investigates claims of discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, ancestry, sex, age, physical and mental handicap, serious medical condition, spousal affiliation, sexual orientation, and gender identity in the areas of employment, housing, credit or public accommodation.

State Personnel Office

The State Personnel Office is responsible for the administration and oversight of the classified service personnel system and has jurisdiction over personnel matters of all state employees, even those not in a union.