GALLUP, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge has upheld hiring preferences at northeastern Arizona coal mines that require the mining company to favor members of the Navajo tribe.
U.S. District Judge John Sedwick’s ruling may end a decade-long battle that pitted the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Peabody Western Coal Co. Sedwick is based in Alaska but heard the case in Phoenix.
The EEOC alleged in its 2001 lawsuit that contracts requiring hiring preferences for Navajos seeking work on Peabody’s reservation mines discriminate against members of other tribes. The federal anti-workplace discrimination agency argued that American Indians as a group could be offered preference but not Navajos specifically. EEOC sought to void federally approved lease provisions on two mine sites requiring Navajo preference and to invalidate the Navajo Preference in Employment Act.
