The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit on Monday accusing the Bashas' supermarket chain of discrimination by failing to hire two Hopis at a store on the Navajo Nation.

The supermarket is located in Tuba City, which is part of the Navajo Nation, but also located near the Hopi Reservation. Dale Lucero and Randy Honahni tried to get jobs at the store but were refused, the lawsuit claims.

Bashas says it has to comply with Navajo law, which has a Navajo hiring preference. But the EEOC says businesses that operate on or near Indian lands can have Indian preference but not tribal preference.

The EEOC is making a similar claim in a lawsuit over Peabody Coal's Navajo hiring preference. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Navajo Nation must respond to the charges.

Get the Story:
Feds: Bashas' wrong not to hire Hopis (The Arizona Daily Sun 8/23)

Related Court Decision:
EEOC v. Peabody (March 10, 2005)

Relevant Links:
Bashas' Supermarkets - http://www.bashas.com
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - http://www.eeoc.gov
Hopi Tribe - http://www.hopi.nsn.us
Navajo Nation - http://www.navajo.org

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Court joins Navajo Nation in discrimination case (03/11)
Oil company accused of not promoting Natives (11/10)