Flores v. Herrera

OPINION

NAKAMURA, Justice.

{1} In this case, we are called upon for the first time to interpret the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA), NMSA 1978, §§ 10-16C-1 to -6 (2010), to resolve a single issue: Does the WPA allow a state employee to assert a claim against a state officer in the officer’s individual capacity? Mary Herrera, when acting as the Secretary of State, terminated the employment of two employees of the Secretary of State’s office, James Flores and Manny Vildasol. In separate actions, Flores and Vildasol each asserted a WPA claim against Herrera in her individual capacity. Herrera…