32.03.070 Powers of Commission

The Commission shall have the power:

(a) To establish rules and regulations governing all activities of the Commission, subject to prior approval of the Tribal Council.

(b) To set minimum wage scale for construction employment at the beginning of each calendar year (see Chapter 32.14), subject to prior approval of the Tribal Council.

(c) To expend operating funds appropriated by the Council for the use of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribal Employment Rights Program.

(d) To obtain funding from federal, state or other sources to supplement Council appropriations, subject to prior approval of the Tribal Council.

(e) To impose numerical hiring goals and timetables, specifying the fair minimum number of Indians an employer may hire by craft or skill level.

(f) To promote employers to establish or participate in such training programs as the Commission deems appropriate to increase the pool of Indian eligible for employment on the reservation.

(g) To assist the TERO Director in administering a tribal hiring hall.

(h) To require that employers may hire non-Indians for non-key positions only after the tribal hiring hall has certified that qualified Indians are unavailable to fill vacant job positions.

(i) To prohibit employers from using job qualifications criteria a personnel requirement that bar Indians from employment unless such criteria or requirements are required by business necessity. Commission regulations may adopt EEOC guidelines or may adopt additional requirements to eliminate employment barriers unique to Indians and the reservation, subject to prior approval of the Tribal Council.

(j) To enter into agreements with the unions to insure union compliance with the Ordinance.

(k) To give preference to Tribal and other Indian-owned business in the award of contracts or subcontractors.

(l) To establish counseling programs to assist Indians to retail employment.

(m) To hold hearings and to subpoena witnesses and documents in accordance with this Ordinance.

(n) To require employers to submit reports and take all actions deemed necessary by the Commission for the fair and vigorous implementation of this Ordinance.

(o) To enter into cooperative agreements with federal employments rights agencies such as EEOC and OFCCP to eliminate discrimination against Indians both on and off the Reservation.

(p) To take such other actions as deemed necessary to achieve the purpose and objectives of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribal Employment Rights Program established in this Ordinance.

In exercising the above-specified powers, the Commission shall have the discretion to implement certain powers only or to apply one or more such powers to limited classes or numbers of employers.