New Mexico’s democratic governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has issued an executive order making thousands of employees of state agencies overseen by the governor eligible for paid maternity and paternity leave for the first time.
Taking effect January first the order calls for 12 weeks of paid leave for the parents of newborn and adopted children. An official with the governor’s office says the annual cost to taxpayers is estimated at roughly $5 million.
Lujan Grisham has been rapidly expanding the ranks of state government workers amid a surge in government income in New Mexico. In commissioning paid paternity leave, Lujan Grisham cited the potential to improve worker morale, productivity, and physical and mental health.