HR1723-119

What This Bill Does

The Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2025 changes who counts as an employer under the National Labor Relations Act. It adds Indian tribes, and enterprises or institutions owned and operated by Indian tribes on Indian lands, to the list of governments excluded from NLRA employer coverage. The bill also defines Indian tribe as a federally recognized tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or organized community eligible for federal Indian programs, defines Indian as a member of an Indian tribe, and defines Indian lands to include reservations, trust or restricted lands, and former reservation lands in Oklahoma as defined by the Interior Secretary.

Who Benefits and How

Indian tribes benefit because the NLRA would no longer treat tribal governments as covered employers for operations on Indian lands. Tribally owned enterprises benefit from lower federal labor-law compliance exposure when they are owned and operated by a tribe and located on Indian lands. Tribal institutions on Indian lands benefit from greater control over labor relations under tribal sovereignty rather than National Labor Relations Board jurisdiction.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Employees of tribally owned enterprises could lose access to NLRA organizing, bargaining, and unfair-labor-practice protections for covered workplaces on Indian lands. Labor unions organizing tribal enterprises face higher barriers because the NLRB would have less jurisdiction. The National Labor Relations Board loses authority over a category of tribal employers and must apply the new statutory definitions.

Key Provisions

• Amends the NLRA employer definition to exclude Indian tribes.
• Adds enterprises or institutions owned and operated by Indian tribes on Indian lands to the NLRA employer exclusion.
• Provides a statutory definition of Indian tribe by reference to federally recognized eligibility for federal Indian programs and services.
• Establishes Indian as a member of an Indian tribe for the NLRA amendment.
• Establishes Indian lands to include reservations, trust or restricted lands, and former Oklahoma reservation lands of federally recognized tribes.