New Mexico gives cash to state workers who skipped vacation

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico will provide extra pay worth up to two weeks of salary for many longtime state employees who skipped using their paid vacation time 2020 amid the pandemic.

The State Personnel Board on Friday approved the payouts to rank-and-file executive-branch employees and political appointees at agencies under the control of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

The initiative from the governor compensates workers for large balances of unused 2020 vacation time that might otherwise expire.

Under ordinary circumstances, state employees lose without payment unused leave in excess of 240 hours at the end of the year.

The payments are being made as Lujan Grisham ramps up her reelection campaign.