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Legislation/Policy/Procedure

Title: Tulalip Tribes Ordinance, Re: Employee Records
Parties: Tulalip Tribe
Date enacted/published: June 30, 1997; amended March 23, 2001

Description:

This Tulalip Tribes Ordinance provides for specific procedures for the disclosure of tribal employee information. Key provisions of the ordinance include:

  • All employee records will be kept confidential unless the employee consents or is specifically allowed by tribal law.
  • Exceptions to a duty not to disclose include if the disclosure is to:
    • A custodian;
    • The CEO, to permit him or her to carry out his or her duties;
    • The tribal police if in conjunction with an ongoing criminal investigation and if there is a subpoena;
    • Any other tribal governmental agency if allowed by a Tulalip Tribal Court Order,
    • The United States, when required by an Internal Revenue Service federal law applicable to Indian tribes;
    • The office of the reservation attorney, when acting to advise the CEO;
    • The director of the Tulalip Gaming Agency for bona fide investigations, but only for casinos employees;
    • The compliance manager; and
    • The board of directors and executive staff, provided the disclosure is solely in a confidential budget, and that no names will be included.
  • Employees will be notified within five days of when a request is made, except for certain requests made in the regular course of business.
  • Knowing and intentional violations will be considered a serious offense, unless committed by a member of the board of directors, which shall be deemed gross misconduct.
  • Procedures for alleging a special grievance for violations.
  • The ordinance does not waive the tribe’s sovereign immunity.
  • Not-hired applicants’ records will be kept for three years, and all employees’ time and attendance records will be kept for three years.

Title: Washington Peace Officer Status for Tribal Police
Parties: State of Washignton and Tribes within the State
Date enacted/published: 2008

Description:

A state law enacted in 2008 (Engrossed House Bill 2476) by the Washington Legislature authorizes certain tribal police officers to exercise general state law enforcement authority. Under certain conditions, certain tribal police officers can act as general authority Washington peace officers: “A tribal police officer recognized and authorized to act as a general authority Washington peace officer under this section (section 2[1]) has the same powers as a general authority Washington police officer to enforce state laws in Washington, including the power to make arrests for violations of state laws.” The act requires that qualifying tribal police officers are commissioned as tribal law enforcement officers who are employed by a federally recognized tribe to enforce tribal law and who have been trained and certified by the Criminal Justice Training Commission. Meeting the latter conditions, a tribal police officer will be allowed to exercise Washington general law enforcement authority on and off the reservation lands and can arrest nontribal suspects. The act is written as a blanket alternative to cross-deputization between state and tribal police forces. However, the possibilities of cross-deputization are not affected or constrained by the act. The act is codified in Revised Code of Washington 10: Criminal Procedure.