NM Probationary Employees Protected by Human Rights Act

In a case of first impression, the New Mexico Court of Appeals has held that State employees on probationary status may still assert a claim of sex or race discrimination under the New Mexico Human Rights Act (HRA).  See Rodriguez v. NM Workforce Solutions, 2012-NMCA-059.

Retaliation Claims Up and Robust, Discrimination/Harassment Claims Struggling

In the June 2011 issue of the ABA Journal, David L. Huston Jr. observes a trend of the U.S. Supreme Court being more favorably inclined to employment retaliation claims, than underlying discrimination claims.  Of all discrimination-related charges filed in 2010, retaliation charges were up to 36.3 percent, from 27.1 percent in 2000.  Some recent retaliation highlights: