State of New Mexico
House of Representatives
Ben Lujan, Speaker of the House
Ken Martinez, House Majority Leader
Sheryl Williams Stapleton, House Majority Whip

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release                                      Contact:  Victoria Chávez 646-241-5335
Jan. 22, 2009                                          Susan Tungate 505-577-8132

Rep. Cote Introduces Legislation Aimed at Preventing Employment Discrimination against Military Spouses

Santa Fe, NM –Rep. Nathan Cote (D-Las Cruces) introduced a bill today that would prevent employers with four employees or more from not hiring a person based solely on military spousal affiliation.  Rep. Cote, a veteran with 30 years of experience in military human resources, introduced the bill citing that throughout his years of service, the number one complaint of military spouses is their difficulty in finding employment.  HB242-Discrimination against Armed Services Spouses received overwhelming support from House members. 

Rep. Cote said, “I can’t stress enough how important this legislation is to support the members of our military and their families. I have personally seen careers and occupations of many military spouses interrupted by their inability to obtain employment in local economies near military installations.”  He added, “If businesses are allowed to consider military spouses as transient, then employers will continue to disregard them as potential employees. This is unfair.  It places an undue financial burden on our military families and we must do right by them."