Tribal law is a shield from suits
Sovereignty could keep ex-NHA worker from collecting

By Pamela G. Dempsey
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Tribal sovereignty may prevent a former employee of Navajo Housing Authority from collecting a judgment awarded to him by tribal courts.

In spite of a decision by the Navajo Nation Labor Commission, which was upheld by the Navajo Nation Supreme Court, Ernest Tso has yet to see the $36,000 judgment he was awarded by the commission more than three years ago after the commission found he was wrongfully terminated from his position at Navajo Housing Authority.

Tso, and his attorney Sampson Martinez, are still fighting for his settlement as well as seeking $90,000 in penalties and expenses; however, Navajo Housing Authority has argued that due to clarifications made by the Navajo Nation Council, Navajo Housing Authority is exempt from such judgments.

The Navajo Preference in Employment Act, it states, does not authorize punitive damages.

Navajo Housing Authority also argues that because it receives federal funding, federal regulations prohibit the payment of penalties, fines, and damages by a tribally designated housing entity.

"As a component of a tribal government, the (Navajo Housing Authority) is barred from paying any fine, penalty, or damages for failure to comply with Navajo laws and regulations," it argues.

This argument could affect all Navajo Nation employees, Martinez said.

"The bigger lesson, if it's correct, is that Navajo Housing Authority employees are stripped of their rights to seek damages," Martinez said.

During the Navajo Nation Council's summer session, the council passed revisions and amendments to Navajo Housing Authority's plan of operation that gave it exemption from levies and judgments.

"The Council has therefore made it abundantly clear that the (Navajo Housing Authority's) exemption from execution applies to everyone without any exception," Navajo Housing Authority argues.

If this is correct, Martinez said, "the whole system is failing."

Tso took the case to the Crownpoint District Court again on Wednesday, where a hearing will be set.

Representatives of the Navajo Housing Authority limited comments to saying that the case is going through its legal process.