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
/ S /
MAGGIE TOULOUSE
OLIVER WITNESS
MY HAND AND THE GREAT
SECRETARY OF
STATE SEAL
OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO
/ S /
MICHELLE
LUJAN GRISHAM GOVERNOR