Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Peabody Western Coal Company

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) filed this action against Peabody Western Coal Company (“Peabody”) for maintaining a Navajo hiring preference at the mines that Peabody leases from the Navajo Nation. The EEOC alleges that Peabody has discriminated against non-Navajo Native Americans, including two members of the Hopi Nation and one member of the Otoe tribe, in violation of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(l).

On appeal, we are presented with three questions. The first is whether, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19, it is feasible to join -the Navajo Nation as a party. We hold that it is feasible to join the Nation in order to effect complete relief between the parties. Because the EEOC is an agency of the United States, the Navajo Nation cannot assert its sovereign immunity as a defense to joinder. The second is whether the EEOC’s claim presents a nonjusticiable political question. We hold that it does not. The third is whether the district court erred in dismissing the EEOC’s claim that Peabody failed to keep records as required by Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-8(c). We hold that it did.' We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

I.…