Tribal Hiring Preference Upheld By Ninth Circuit

A federal court shot down an EEOC lawsuit that claimed a mining company preferentially hiring Native Americans violated the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Peabody Western Coal Co. had Interior Department-approved mineral leases, which included provisions for tribal hiring preferences for Navajo Nation members. In 1998, two Hopi Indians and one Otoe Indian filed claims with the EEOC, saying they were not hired because they weren’t Navajo. The case provides some clarity for firms handling specific tribal affiliation preferences, “and indicates that most preferences will be upheld,” write Littler attorneys Kevin Kraham and William Trachman.