Union and Management Reps Slammed in News, and Other NM Labor News

The past week's news was newsworthy in including two stories that raise questions about collective bargaining representatives.  Although the issues were different, the parallel timing was really quite ironic.  There is also interesting but worrisome news concerning the State Labor Board ("PELRB").

On Friday, February 24, 2012, the Albuquerque Journal reported that a newly retired

Workers Comp and Tribal Immunity Revisited--What a Tangled Web

As discussed in a previous blog, in 2010, the New Mexico Court of Appeals concluded that the Workers Compensation Administration does not have jurisdiction where a Worker is injured in the course of employment at a business  wholly owned and operated by a federally recognized Indian tribe, if the Tribe has not expressly waived sovereign immunity.  See Antonio v. Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino, 2010-NMCA-077, cert. den.  

However, recent cases highlight that there can be quite a bit of parsing between tribal business entities, and as to whether which if any have waived tribal immunity