The EEOC Phoenix office filed this suit on June 13, 2001 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. The suit alleged that defendant Peabody Western Coal's lease agreement with the Navajo Nation violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act because it mandated a hiring preference in favor of Navajo Indians, as opposed to members of other Indian tribes. The complainants, who intervened in the case, were Hopi Indians who were not hired to work at the coal plant.

Peabody Western Coal moved for summary judgment, arguing that (1) the case could not go forward because the Navajo Nation itself was an indispensable party, but that it could not be joined because the EEOC was not empowered to sue Indian tribes, and that (2) the case presented a nonjusticiable political question. In September 2002, the district court granted the motion, agreeing with the defendant on both counts. E.E.O.C. v. Peabody Coal Co., 214 F.R.D. 549 (D.Ariz., 2002).

The EEOC appealed, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded, holding that "[b]ecause the EEOC is an agency of the United States, the Navajo Nation cannot assert its sovereign immunity as a defense to joinder," and that the political question doctrine was not relevant because this case did not require the court to "make a policy judgment of a legislative nature." E.E.O.C. v. Peabody Coal Co., 400 F.3d 774, 776, 784 (9th Cir. 2005).

On remand, the Navajo Nation, after being joined as a defendant, filed a motion to dismiss the suit on numerous grounds. The motion was converted to a motion for summary judgment and granted on September 30, 2006, and the case was dismissed.

Jason Chester - 07/27/2007


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