Your Employment Dispute Will Be Governed by Tribal Law

Employment disputes in Indian Country are typically a matter of tribal law, even if the employee is not a tribal member. Attempts to try employment disputes in state or federal court almost always fail.

Whether tribal court will hear your employment dispute, therefore, depends on tribal law.
Most local tribes have not given their courts authority to hear employment disputes. Therefore, the primary source of law for most employment disputes is the employee handbook.

The handbook will often describe a non-judicial process for resolving an employment complaint. At Muckleshoot, for example, the handbook, at least in theory, gives the employee the right to have a hearing. The hearing is heard by a randomly selected committee of three employees and conducted by someone from Human Resources.

The employee may present witnesses and cross examine the Tribe’s witnesses. However, the employee lacks fundamental due process protections such as the power to subpoena witnesses who do not wish to attend the hearing and the power to subpoena documentary evidence.

In addition, the committee members may be reluctant to find in favor of the employee for fear of losing their own jobs.