New Mexico runs its own OSHA-approved state plan, and it has two deadlines, not one. The first is the fifteen working days everyone knows about. The second — fifteen days to move from informal administrative review to a hearing before the Review Commission — is the one that quietly ends cases, because employers who cleared the first hurdle assume the matter is now in a queue and stop counting.
McNeil Safety Consulting represents New Mexico employers in citation contests and provides the full industrial hygiene, safety program and environmental scope in the state.
Who inspects and cites you in New Mexico
The Occupational Health and Safety Bureau sits inside the New Mexico Environment Department — not the labor department, which surprises people who go looking in the wrong agency. The plan covers private-sector employers and state and local government.
Federal OSHA keeps jurisdiction over a defined set of carve-outs: maritime, shipyard and longshoring work; contractors performing United States Postal Service mail operations; private-sector establishments on military installations including Kirtland Air Force Base and White Sands; employment within any Indian reservation and lands under the control of a tribal government; the Department of Energy Western Area Power Administration site at Elephant Butte; and aircraft cabin crew in flight. New Mexico has a great deal of tribal land and a great deal of federal installation, so this carve-out matters more here than in most state-plan states. Establish which regime issued the citation before you calculate anything, because the federal deadline and the state deadline are computed differently and filed in different places.
The two deadlines
First: fifteen working days to file the notice of contest
NMSA 1978, §50-9-17(B) provides that “the employer has fifteen working days within which to notify the department in writing that he wishes to contest the citation or proposed penalty.” The implementing rule, 11.5.5.302(C) NMAC, is equally plain: “A notice of contest shall be filed with the department within fifteen (15) working days after the employer’s receipt of the citation.”
Watch the trigger, because the statute and the rule do not describe it identically. §50-9-17(B) runs the period from receipt of the notice issued by the department — the notice of proposed penalty — which is the same structure as the federal rule. 11.5.5.302(C) NMAC runs it from the employer’s receipt of the citation. Where the two documents arrive separately, calculate from the earlier of them and do not rely on the more generous reading. Miss the period and the citation and penalty are “deemed the final order of the commission and not subject to review by any court or agency.”
Second: fifteen days after informal administrative review
Filing the contest routes the matter into informal administrative review. §50-9-17(D) then provides that if the matter is not successfully resolved there, the petitioner may request a hearing before the commission within fifteen days after the administrative review, and the commission shall afford an opportunity for a hearing within thirty days after receipt of the petition.
This is the trap. The informal review feels like progress, and nothing about it signals that a second clock started when it concluded. We calendar both dates at intake and treat the second as the operative one from the moment the informal review closes.
An advocate may, but need not, be a lawyer
Practice before the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Review Commission is governed by 11.5.5.111 NMAC. Its structure is worth setting out precisely, because it is more particular than the equivalent rules in neighbouring states.
- Non-attorney representation is permitted: “An advocate may, but need not, be a lawyer.”
- An entity must appear through an advocate. The rule provides that a party who is an individual may appear in person or through an advocate, “and any other party shall appear through an advocate.” A company cannot simply appear for itself — but a non-attorney advocate satisfies the requirement.
- Every advocate is held to attorney ethical standards. The rule subjects all advocates to the New Mexico Rules of Professional Conduct, and provides that the term “lawyer” in those rules applies to any advocate in the proceedings regardless of licensure. A non-attorney representative in New Mexico carries the same duties of candour and competence as counsel.
- Entry of appearance certifies authority to bind the party and must be in writing; a signed pleading suffices.
The rule also advises that commission proceedings, particularly those continuing past informal review, may involve complex legal and factual issues in which a party would be best served by obtaining the services of a lawyer. That is advisory, not mandatory. McNeil Safety Consulting is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice; we appear as the employer’s advocate on the technical and regulatory merits — classification, exposure, sampling adequacy, abatement feasibility and penalty factors — and say so plainly where a matter has moved onto ground that calls for counsel.
What OHSB is targeting
New Mexico publishes its emphasis programs, which is more than several neighbouring states do. The State Emphasis Programs in effect for federal fiscal year 2026, beginning 1 October 2025, are:
- Primary and fabricated metals
- Construction
- Oil and gas
- Silica
- Hospitals and nursing care
New Mexico has also adopted the federal National Emphasis Programs covering process-safety-management chemical facilities, primary metals, hexavalent chromium, trenching and excavation, outdoor and indoor heat-related hazards, combustible dust, falls, and warehousing and distribution centres. The oil and gas emphasis is worth particular attention because two programs can reach the same operator: New Mexico’s own state emphasis program applies on state-plan worksites, while DAL-CPL-04-00-003, the federal Regional Emphasis Program for the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry, effective 7 October 2024 and running to 30 September 2029, expressly covers worksites in New Mexico that are under federal OSHA jurisdiction — military installations and tribal lands among them.
What we do for New Mexico employers
- Citation contests — notice of contest, informal administrative review, and hearings before the Occupational Health and Safety Review Commission as the employer’s advocate under 11.5.5.111 NMAC, with both statutory deadlines calendared.
- Industrial hygiene — personal sampling and exposure assessment for silica, hexavalent chromium, welding fume, hydrogen sulfide and hydrocarbons, noise, metals and respirable dust.
- Oil and gas field safety programs — confined space, hot work, fall protection, H2S and contractor management, written against the current state emphasis.
- Healthcare and long-term care safety — the hospitals and nursing care emphasis reaches safe patient handling, workplace violence, bloodborne pathogens and respiratory protection.
- Heat illness prevention programs for outdoor and indoor work.
- Incident and accident investigation, including response while an inspection is open.
- Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments to ASTM E1527-21 and E1903-19.
- Expert witness and litigation support for New Mexico counsel.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to contest a New Mexico OSHA citation?
Fifteen working days from your receipt of the citation, in writing to the department — NMSA 1978 §50-9-17(B) and 11.5.5.302(C) NMAC. There is then a second deadline: fifteen days after informal administrative review to request a hearing before the Review Commission, under §50-9-17(D).
Can a non-attorney represent my company before the New Mexico commission?
Yes. 11.5.5.111 NMAC provides that an advocate “may, but need not, be a lawyer.” A company party must appear through an advocate rather than on its own behalf, and a non-attorney advocate satisfies that. Every advocate, licensed or not, is held to the New Mexico Rules of Professional Conduct.
Which agency runs OSHA in New Mexico?
The Occupational Health and Safety Bureau, within the New Mexico Environment Department. It covers private-sector employers and state and local government, with federal carve-outs for maritime, military installations, tribal lands, certain federal sites and postal contract operations.
Do you subcontract New Mexico work?
No. Michael Karl McNeil performs the site work, the sampling, the program writing and the contest work personally. Nothing is farmed out.
Talk to Michael directly about a New Mexico matter
Call (626) 546-9384 or email mike@mcneilsafetyconsulting.com. See also the full service area, appeal deadlines by state, OSHA violation defense and the background behind this practice.