New Mexico
Minimum wage in Las Cruces raised above state rate – Source New Mexico
A raise to the minimum wage in Las Cruces city limits went into effect Jan. 1 requiring employers to pay $12.36 minimum hourly wage and $4.95 per hour wage for tipped workers.
The new wage is a 3 percent increase from the 2022 rate of $12 per-hour.
New Mexico’s second-largest city has a higher minimum wage than most of the state, after Las Cruces enacted its own local ordinance in 2014 that ties minimum wage increases to higher inflation rates measured by the national Consumer Price Index.
The U.S. The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures the change in prices paid for different goods and services over time in the Consumer Price Index.
Preliminary data from November showed that people in cities were paying 3.1% more than 2022 for food and other goods, although full seasonally-adjusted data won’t be available until February.
Las Cruces’ changes to its minimum wage ordinance followed local laws passed by the City of Santa Fe, and tied wage increases to inflation measures in 2002. A measure was adopted by the Santa Fe County government in early 2014. There’s no announcement yet about any increase to Santa Fe’s wages, which would be announced in February for any changes on March 1.
Santa Fe raised its minimum wage to $14.03 per-hour in 2023.
Albuquerque’s wage rates remain unchanged from 2023, at $12 hourly for most employees and $7.20 per-hour for tipped workers, according to the 2024 wage notice to businesses.
New Mexico’s statewide minimum wage of $12 per-hour went into effect in January 2023, the final raise across four years to the state’s minimum wage, after a change to the law in 2019. Under state minimum wage laws, tipped workers are paid $3 per-hour.
The state’s minimum wage law excludes most people under the age of 18, and most agricultural and domestic workers. Other exceptions to state minimum wage laws include religious employment, workers at day or away camps and direct family employees, among others.
A bill to increase statewide minimum wages did not make it out of committees in last year’s legislative session. House Bill 28 would have gradually raised the statewide minimum wage $15.50 by 2026 and would have tied future wages to inflation increases in the Consumer Price Index.
It’s unclear if any lawmakers plan to bring that proposal back this year. The New Mexico legislature begins a 30-day session on Jan. 16.
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LAS CRUCES, N.M (KFOX14/CBS4) — A gun-tracking program that uses shell casings to connect shootings is already helping investigators link crimes in Doña Ana County, according to new numbers released by the New Mexico Department of Justice.
The effort is part of New Mexico’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center, which uses ballistic evidence such as shell casings to track guns believed to be used in multiple crimes. The program relies on the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN, a national database that compares ballistic evidence to determine whether shell casings may have come from the same weapon.
In April, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez described how the technology can connect cases across jurisdictions.
“There may be a shooting that occurs in Deming that’s actually connected to a crime gun that’s recovered in Las Cruces. We may find shell casings in Silver City that are connected to something that happened in T or C,” Torrez said.
Four months into the program, the Department of Justice said 210 bullet casings have been analyzed in Doña Ana County. Those casings helped link 32 incidents to 13 guns.
Jordan Salas reports on New Mexico DOJ data: Shell-casing tracking links shootings in Doña Ana County (Credit: KFOX14)
Statewide, more than 700 casings have been entered into the system, connecting 74 shootings to 31 guns.
One person reacting to the numbers said, “That’s crazy. Honestly, all those shootings all coming from that little amount of weapons is crazy.”
New Mexico officials say the system is designed to help law enforcement share information faster and build cases more efficiently.
Also in April, Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart pointed to a local case she said the technology helped resolve quickly.
“We resolved a homicide with a suspect arrest in four days. We know that those casings may lead to another 1 or 2 incidents in another city,” Stewart said.
Some residents said the technology alone will not solve gun violence, but they see it as a step forward. One person said, “I mean, growing up, like hearing gunshots in the distance. That wasn’t something crazy. I have stories of, like, friends who’ve gone to parties that had guns go off there. So, yeah, I would say guns are a problem there.”
Another person said, “I would think that it’s a good thing. I’m personally like, just anything to help the gun crimes, you know?”
KFOX14/CBS4 contacted Las Cruces police and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office to ask how the leads are being used in local investigations, but we are awaiting a response.
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- Who: New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez brought a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc.
- Why: The state claims Meta misrepresented harms to minors and created a public nuisance through its social media platforms.
- Where: The lawsuit is pending in New Mexico state court.
- How to get help: Has social media impacted the mental health of you or your child? You may qualify to join a social media lawsuit against the platform.
New Mexico’s attorney general is asking a state court to order Meta to pay approximately $3.7 billion to address what the state describes as a “public nuisance” caused by the company’s social media platforms.
The request comes after a jury previously found Meta misrepresented the risks its platforms — including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — pose to underage users. The jury also imposed a $375 million penalty in the first phase of the trial.
The case has now moved into a second phase, where the court will determine what additional remedies, if any, Meta must provide.
According to the state, the proposed $3.712 billion abatement plan would fund a 15-year effort to address the alleged harms caused by Meta’s platforms. The plan includes funding for public education, school resources, law enforcement support and mental health services for children affected by issues, such as online bullying and sexual exploitation.
“This request recognizes the scope of the public nuisance that Meta has caused,” counsel for the state argued in court.
The lawsuit alleges Meta concealed or downplayed the extent of harmful activity on its platforms while publicly portraying them as safe for younger users.
Meta disputes liability, challenges proposed abatement plan
Meta denies the allegations and argues there is no legal basis for the sweeping relief requested by the state.
Attorneys for the company contend the proposed abatement plan does not directly address or stop the alleged harmful conduct and instead seeks compensation for downstream effects.
“What no court has ever allowed … is payment for the downstream effects,” Meta’s counsel argued, describing the request as “damages masquerading as something else.”
The court is expected to hear additional testimony during the second phase of the trial before determining whether to approve any form of injunctive relief or financial remedies.
In March, a California jury found Meta and Google liable for mental health harms suffered by plaintiff Kaley G.M., who became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child, awarding $6 million in damages, including $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages.
What do you think about the claims against Meta in this case? Let us know in the comments.
The state is represented by Raul Torrez of the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General and Donald Migliori, Linda Singer, Michael Pendell and David Ackerman of Motley Rice LLC.
The Meta lawsuit is New Mexico v. Meta Platforms Inc., et al., Case No. D-101-CV-2023-02838, in the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico.
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