Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Peabody Western Coal Co.

WILLIAM A. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge:

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) appeals various rulings of the district court in its suit against Peabody Western Coal Company (“Peabody”). Peabody leases mines from the Navajo Nation (“the Nation”), and maintains a preference for employing Navajo workers at these mines. EEOC alleges that in maintaining its employment preference Peabody discriminates against non-Navajo Indians, including two members of the Hopi Nation and one member of the Otoe tribe, in violation of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(l). The district court first…