For the purposes of Section 52-1-6 NMSA 1978 “farm and ranch laborers” shall include those persons providing care for animals in training for the purpose of competition or competitive exhibition. Employees of a veterinarian and laborers at a treating facility or a facility used solely for the boarding of animals, which is not an intrinsic part of a farm or ranch operation, are not covered by this provision.
HISTORY:
Laws 1984, ch. 127, § 988.3.
Notes to Decisions
Exclusion.
Farm and ranch laborers seeking compensation are similarly situated to other workers who are likewise seeking compensation because both groups consist of workers suffering work-related injuries or disabilities who are in need of indemnity and medical benefits; not only do the distinctions created by the farm and ranch laborers exclusion fail to serve the stated purpose, policy, and philosophy of the Workers' Compensation Act but they result in dissimilar treatment of similarly situated workers. Rodriguez v. Brand West Dairy, 2015-NMCA-097, 356 P.3d 546, 2015 N.M. App. LEXIS 69 (N.M. Ct. App. 2015).
Exemption.
Former 59-10-5, 1953 Comp. of the New Mexico Workmen’s Compensation Act did not preclude a farm laborer from filing a negligence suit against his employers for the damages the laborer suffered in a work-related injury, because former 59-10-4, 1953 Comp. exempted farm laborers from the Act. Thompson v. Dale, 1955-NMSC-040, 59 N.M. 290, 283 P.2d 623, 1955 N.M. LEXIS 1021 (N.M. 1955).