Human Resource Blog

Discrimination, Age and Sex

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Do Indian casinos in CA follow state law or federal or make up their own? This question is in regard to not being offered a open position in human resources that is staffed by 17  females (I am a male) and also 72 years old. I have a Masters from USC in Administration and years of experience in H/R.

Many federal laws do not apply to Indian reservations, which are considered outside state and federal jurisdiction. That’s why casinos are legal on reservations, even when they are illegal elsewhere in the state.

Under an exception to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, even a non-Indian employer on or near an Indian reservation may legally discriminate by hiring Indian employees in preference to employees of other races. This is true only if the employer has a stated policy of giving hiring preference to Indians.

Many, many tribal businesses hire only Indians, or give preference in hiring to Indians. This is perfectly legal.  

By the way, there is nothing in your post that suggest discrimination based on race, sex or age was committed. Employers are free to hire a younger, female employee of any race, as long as that decision is made on qualifications and not sex or age alone. While having an advanced degree is one qualification an employer might look for, it is not the only one by any means.

Unfortunately, HR has changed so much that an advanced degree more than 20 years old is not a big advantage, unless you have been continuously employed in the field ever since.

 

To put it another way, if you were the owner of an Indian casino and you hired a senior HR person, would you expect him or her to know the answer to the question posed above?