A. The district courts shall have jurisdiction, upon petition of the secretary, to restrain any conditions or practices in any place of employment which are such that a danger exists that could reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical harm immediately or before the imminence of the danger can be eliminated through the enforcement procedures otherwise provided by the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Any order issued under this section may require such steps to be taken as may be necessary to avoid, correct or remove the imminent danger and prohibit the employment of any individual in locations or under conditions where the danger exists, except individuals whose presence is necessary to avoid, correct or remove such imminent danger or to maintain the capacity of a continuous process operation to resume normal operations without a complete cessation of operations or, where a cessation of operations is necessary, to permit such to be accomplished in a safe and orderly manner.

B. Upon the filing of a petition, the district court may grant injunctive relief or a temporary restraining order in accordance with the New Mexico rules of civil procedure pending the outcome of an enforcement proceeding pursuant to the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

C. When the secretary or the secretary's representative determines that an emergency exists, he shall immediately inform the employees and employers of the hazards and take steps to obtain immediate abatement of the hazards by the employer.

D. If the secretary arbitrarily or capriciously fails to seek relief under this section, any employee who may be injured by reason of such failure, or the representative of such employee, may bring an action against the secretary in the district court for the district in which the imminent danger is alleged to exist for a writ of mandamus to compel the secretary to seek an order of the court as provided in this section.

History: 1953 Comp., § 59-14-13, enacted by Laws 1972, ch. 63, § 13; 1975, ch. 290, § 10; 1993, ch. 322, § 12.

The 1993 amendment, effective April 8, 1993, substituted "secretary" for "director" throughout the section and made minor stylistic changes in Subsections A and C.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 61 Am. Jur. 2d Plant and Job Safety - OSHA and State Laws §§ 39, 41, 53.