{"data":{"id":"us-nm/28-17-19","jurisdiction":"us-nm","citation":"28-17-19","heading":"Interference with the office and retaliation prohibited; penalty; civil; appeal.","body":"A. No person shall willfully interfere with the lawful actions of the office, including the request for immediate entry into a long-term care facility.\nB. No person shall institute discriminatory, disciplinary or retaliatory action against any resident, employee or other person for filing a complaint, providing information to or otherwise cooperating with a representative of the office.\nC. Any person who violates Subsection A of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to five thousand dollars ($5,000) per occurrence. Any person who violates Subsection B of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per occurrence. The agency may assess and collect the penalty after notice and an opportunity for hearing, before a hearing officer designated by the agency to hear the matter, upon a determination that a person willfully interfered with the office or discriminated, disciplined or retaliated against an individual who communicated or disclosed information to the office in good faith pursuant to Subsection A or B of this section. The hearing officer has the power to administer oaths on request of any party and issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum. However, if the violation is against a person covered by the Personnel Act [Chapter 10, Article 9 NMSA 1978], the office shall refer the matter to the agency employing the person for disciplinary action.\nD. Any party may appeal to the district court pursuant to the provisions of Section 39-3-1.1 NMSA 1978.","path":["Chapter 28 - Human Rights","ARTICLE 17 Long-Term Care Ombudsman"],"source_url":"https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa-unanno/en/item/18528/index.do","current_through":"2025-05-15","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-03T15:02:19Z","sha256":"10a0bb29b795389de2576d9aeb84db1176ad4818c4bcdabc5dd6c9168445cd55","source_id":"us-nm","stale":false,"prev":"us-nm/28-17-18","next":"us-nm/28-18-1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}