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- Title
Native American Sovereignty, Employee Rights and Federal Labour laws.
- Authors
Akhtar, Zia
- Abstract
The Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution recognizes tribal nations as sovereign, and the Civil Rights Act 1964 excludes indigenous U.S. tribes from the mandatory application of federal labour laws. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 excludes tribes from its definition of "employer;" its language does not implicate other federal labour and employment laws, most of which do not mention Indian tribes. Each statute has its own definition of "employer." However, in San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino v. NLRB, 475 F .3d 1306 (D.C. Cir. 2007), the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals compelled tribal employers to be bound by the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"), and by implication, those statutes that are silent as to tribes now include them under their definitions of "employer." By comparison, Canadian First Nation employees are governed by the Labour Code of 1985; a framework that allows both the federal and provincial governments to intervene on the Reserves. However, the Indian Act of 1876 grants the federal government powers to regulate the Band Councils and control their economic activities. It is now possible that there may be more devolution for the tribes if they accept frameworks for capital growth, and this may impact labour relations. his article is a comparison between U.S. and Canadian labour law frameworks, industrial infrastructure and its regulation, and court judgments that impact the autonomy of tribal nations. Such judgments could undermine treaty relationships if the tribal nations do not adopt a system that provides for more employee protection.
- Subjects
UNITED States; CANADA; EMPLOYEE rights; LABOR laws; INTERSTATE commerce clause; UNITED States. Court of Appeals (District of Columbia Circuit); CIVIL Rights Act of 1964. Title VII; SAN Manuel Indian Bingo &; Casino (Company); NATIONAL Labor Relations Act (U.S.); LAW
- Publication
Labor Law Journal, 2014, Vol 65, Issue 4, p259
- ISSN
0023-6586
- Publication type
Article