I currently work for a federal contractor. It looks like the contract, and a number of us will be terminated in the near future. In the interest of knowing my rights going into this, what is New Mexico Law (or if there are special rules governing federal contractors) on paying accrued vacation upon termination?

We accrue vacation each pay period, and can carry across years as long as we don't exceed a certain number of hours. If at the end of the year we are above the maximum number of hours, the employer pays us for the hours that we are over and removes those hours. If the limit was 240 hours and at the end of the year I had 250, then I would be paid for 10 hours of work and on Jan 1st I would have 240 hours of vacation.

If I am terminated when this contract ends, then am I entitled to be paid for those vacation hours? If yes, then is there any scenario in which they might be able to get away with not paying for those hours (such as saying that they are out of money on the contract, or if they offer us jobs in other states, or even other jobs under a different contract, etc)?

Thanks for any help or insight that you can provide!

New Mexico has no law requiring the payout of earned vacation at separation of employment but employer policies may form implied contracts requiring payment. (or unless you have a bona fide employment contract or CBA requiring such payout)