Document Type
Brief
Publication Date
12-8-2023
Abstract
The Navajo Nation Labor Commission ("NNLC" or "Commission") invited the Navajo Nation Department of Justice ("DOJ") to file an amicus brief in this matter. As discussed more fully below, the DOJ recommends that the NNLC hold an evidentiary hearing to gather facts necessary to conduct a full jurisdictional analysis under Montana and determine whether the Northern Apache County Special Healthcare District ("NACSHCD") has sovereign immunity. The fact gathering process is necessary given the fact-intensive analysis under both Montana and Arizona's sovereign immunity laws. As the Navajo Supreme Court has instructed, the proper threshold inquiry is whether jurisdiction exists over the parties. Clark v. Allen, 7 Nav. R. 422,423 (Nav. Sup. Ct. 1999). Therefore, this brief will first address whether the NNLC has subject matter jurisdiction over NACSHCD. The brief then analyzes Defendant's sovereign immunity defense.
Publisher
The Navajo Nation Labor Commission
Volume
Docket No. NNLC 2023-010
Keywords
Navajo Nation Labor Commission Jurisdiction, Sovereign Immunity, Navajo Preference in Employment Act, NPEA, Montana v. United States
Recommended Citation
Brief for The Navajo Nation, Tsosie v. Northern Apache County Special Healthcare District, No. NNLC 2023-010 (Navajo Nation Lab. Comm'n Dec. 8, 2023).