The Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort near Flagstaff, Arizona. Photo from Facebook
Attorneys discuss whether employees at a tribal casino can be forced to work overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act or tribal law:
The answer to your question is yes, your employer could terminate you for refusing to work overtime. However, the analysis to your question depends somewhat upon whether the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies to your employer. The FLSA is a federal statute that governs hours and overtime. Under the FLSA, an employee is entitled to overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. There is no requirement that an employee be paid overtime for hours worked in excess of eight hours in a shift. If the FLSA applies in your situation, your employer is not required to pay overtime for hours worked over eight hours in a shift. Your situation is more complicated because sovereign immunity may apply. Tribes have sovereign immunity unless the tribe expressly waives sovereign immunity. Tribes often have their own Tribal employment laws that would govern an employment relationship and overtime provisions under sovereign immunity.Get the Story:
Overtime in an Indian owned casino (The Arizona Republic 10/27)
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