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Las Cruces City Council To Discuss 2021 Minimum Wage Tuesday

  The Las Cruces City Council will meet at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, September 22, via video conference, for a Special Work Session regarding the City’s proposed minimum wage for 2021. 

Mayor Ken Miyagishima will allow the first 20 employees who sign up to speak on the topic. Those who wish to speak must contact Annette Granado either by phone at 575/541-2076, or by email at agranado@las-cruces.org

A link will be sent to only the first 20 respondents. 

The Special work session will be televised live at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, September 22 on CLC-TV, Comcast Cable channel 20, and will be available online at clctv.com and at YouTube.com/clctv20

At the Monday, September 14 work session, City Council agreed to conduct further public discussions regarding the proposed 2021 City of Las Cruces minimum wage. 

Currently, Las Cruces’ minimum wage is $10.25 an hour and the minimum wage for tipped employees is $4.10 an hour, plus any tips a server receives. 

On Jan. 1, 2021, New Mexico’s and Las Cruces’ minimum wages are supposed to increase. The state’s minimum wage will increase to $10.50 per hour and will be $2.35 per hour for tipped employees. The City will also adopt the state’s minimum wage of $10.50 per hour and based on the municipal ordinance, the wage for tipped employees will be $4.20 per hour.  

City Council has options to consider regarding the City’s minimum wage: 

  • Repeal the City’s minimum wage ordinance and utilize the state of New Mexico’s minimum wage law. 

  • Continue with the local ordinance but determine, on an annual basis, the hourly rate comparison between the State and City and adopt the higher rate; then apply the tipped minimum wage formula on the hourly rate. 

The City of Las Cruces has until October 15 to legally advertise what the City’s minimum wage will be on January 1, 2021. 
City Council especially wants input from employees, business owners or managers in Las Cruces about the minimum wage proposals being considered. The council has acknowledged the COVID-19 public health crisis has created a serious, negative economic impact on restaurants.