New Mexico Register / Volume XXXII, Issue 15 /August 10, 2021

 

 

EXECUTIVE ORDER 2021-045

 

 

REQUIRING STATE EMPLOYEES TO COMPLY

WITH CERTAIN PUBLIC HEALTH REQUIREMENTS

 

 

                WHEREAS, on January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization ("WHO") announced the emergence of a novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) that had not previously circulated in humans, but has been found to have adopted to humans such that it is contagious and easily spread from one person to another and one country to another;

                WHEREAS, COVID-19 cases had been confirmed in New Mexico since March 11, 2020, when the New Mexico Department of Health confirmed the first cases of individuals infected with COVID-19 in New Mexico and additional cases have been confirmed each day since then;

                WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, because of the spread of COVID-19, I issued Executive Order 2020-004 declaring a Public Health Emergency exists in New Mexico under the Public Health Emergency Response Act, and invoked my authority under the All Hazards Emergency Management Act;

                WHEREAS, I have renewed the declaration of a Public Health Emergency through August 16, 2021;

                WHEREAS, the currently available COVID-19 vaccines are a safe and effective way of preventing serious illness or death;

                WHEREAS, the refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine not only endangers the individual but the entire community, and further jeopardizes the progress the State has made against the pandemic by allowing the virus to transmit more freely and mutate into more transmissible or deadly variants;

                WHEREAS, one such highly-transmissible variant, B.1.617.2, commonly known as the Delta variant, now accounts for the majority of new infections;

                WHEREAS, the State has recorded a significant increase in new COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, with cases expected to rise even further in the Fall and Winter months;

                WHEREAS, the further spread of COVID-19 in the State of New Mexico poses a threat to the health, safety, and wellbeing of all New Mexicans;

                WHEREAS, state employees who become ill cannot adequately perform their duties, which disrupts the orderly operation of State government; and

                WHEREAS, regular testing, masks, and social-distancing remain some of the most effective ways to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

                NOW THEREFORE, I, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Governor of the State of New Mexico, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of New Mexico, hereby ORDER and DIRECT as follows:

                1.             State employees shall comply with the provisions regarding the use of masks contained in the operative Public Health Order issued by the Secretary of the Department of Health during the course and scope of their employment.

                2.             State employees who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and willing and able to provide adequate proof or such vaccination shall provide adequate proof that the employee has tested negative for COVID-19 within the past seven (7) days every two weeks.

                3.             Employees who refuse to abide by the above requirements may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination, in accordance with applicable law.

                4.             State agencies shall ensure, consistent with law, that any documentation related to vaccination status or test results are not disclosed to individuals other than those necessary to ensure compliance with this Order.

                5.             The New Mexico State Personnel Office shall provide agencies with guidance on the full implementation and administration this Order.

                I FURTHER ORDER and DIRECT as follows:

                1.             This Order supersedes any previous orders, proclamations, policies or directives to the extent they are in conflict.

                2.             This Order shall take effect at 8:00 a.m. on August 2, 2021 and shall remain in effect until renewed, modified, or rescinded.

 

ATTEST:                                                                               DONE AT THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE

                                                                                                THIS 29TH DAY OF JULY 2021

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MAGGIE TOULOUSE OLIVER                                   WITNESS MY HAND AND THE GREAT

SECRETARY OF STATE                                               SEAL OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

 

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                                                                                                MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM GOVERNOR