Panel of retired judges to hear arguments in case about court-approved paid leave policy

Dec. 4—SANTA FE — A panel of retired judges will hear arguments Wednesday in a case that hinges on the legality of a paid leave policy the New Mexico judicial branch adopted for its roughly 2,000 employees.

A state agency stopped processing the leave payouts this year due to legal concerns, prompting the court system’s top administrator to file a lawsuit.

The Supreme Court case specifically focuses on whether Wayne Propst, the top budget official in Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration, overstepped his authority by blocking the paid time off payments for judicial employees.

The Department of Finance and Administration, which Propst runs, stopped fully processing the payouts in June after a legal opinion from Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s office concluded the judiciary’s policy likely violates state law.

DFA officials have also claimed the judicial branch’s leave program pays employees about 180% more than standard state payouts.

However, judicial branch officials have argued it is actually more cost effective in the long run, as some state employees take their accrued sick leave before retiring in order to avoid losing it.

While the Legislature has not officially intervened in the dispute between the judicial and executive branches, Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, said the judicial branch has used savings from vacant positions to fund the leave payouts.

“The big problem is there is no way New Mexico can handle that kind of a system statewide,” said Muñoz, who is the chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee.

He estimated the cost of such a system would likely total between $25 million to $30 million annually to implement.

Muñoz also suggested some lawmakers might be reluctant to grant the judicial branch’s request for money to pay for new positions over its handling of the paid leave policy.

“They will have their budget scrutinized very thoroughly,” he told the Journal.

Meanwhile, all five New Mexico Supreme Court justices recused themselves from the case after attorneys for the DFA argued having sitting judges preside over the case could violate the state’s due process rights.

As a result, the panel of judges hearing the case will include retired Supreme Court justices Richard Bosson, Edward Chávez, Petra Maes and Judith Nakamura. Former Court of Appeals Judge Michael Bustamente will be joining them as the fifth judge assigned to the case.

It’s unclear whether the five-judge panel might issue a ruling immediately after oral arguments on Wednesday or whether they will issue an opinion at a later date.

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