Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2025
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The bill would exclude Indian tribes and tribal enterprises located on tribal land from the definition of "employer" under the National Labor Relations Act, removing them from federal requirements to recognize unions or bargain collectively with employees.
The change would extend to tribal governments and tribally owned businesses, including casinos and other enterprises, the same kind of exemption already given to federal, state, and local governments, shifting labor-relations authority for those workplaces away from federal labor law.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend the National Labor Relations Act's definition of "employer" to add an exclusion for any Indian tribe, and for any enterprise or institution owned and operated by an Indian tribe and located on its Indian lands. It would also add definitions of "Indian tribe," "Indian," and "Indian lands" to the Act, drawing on existing federal recognition standards and including former reservation lands in Oklahoma. Because employers excluded from the National Labor Relations Act's definition are not subject to its requirements, tribal governments and on-reservation tribal enterprises—such as casinos and other tribally owned businesses—would no longer be required to comply with the Act's rules on union recognition, collective bargaining, and unfair labor practices. The bill does not change any other labor, employment, or tax law, and does not address labor relations occurring off tribal lands.
Key provisions
- 1Would exclude Indian tribes and tribally owned enterprises or institutions located on Indian lands from the definition of "employer" under the National Labor Relations Act.
- 2Would define "Indian tribe" as any tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or organized group or community recognized as eligible for federal Indian programs and services.
- 3Would define "Indian lands" to include reservation lands, land held in trust or restricted from alienation for tribes or Indians, and certain former reservation lands in Oklahoma.
Who would be affected
Indian tribes and tribal governments, tribally owned enterprises and institutions located on Indian lands—including tribal casinos and other businesses—and the employees who work for them. It also affects labor unions seeking to organize workers at those tribal enterprises, and the National Labor Relations Board, which currently oversees such disputes.
Why it matters
Employees at tribal enterprises, particularly large tribal casinos, would lose the federal right under the National Labor Relations Act to unionize and bargain collectively through National Labor Relations Board processes. Tribes would gain the same exemption already enjoyed by federal, state, and local governments, giving them more control over labor relations on their own lands without federal board oversight.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 152) (Sec. 2)
Adds Indian tribes and tribal enterprises on Indian lands to the exclusion from the definition of "employer," and adds new definitions of Indian tribe, Indian, and Indian lands.
Agencies directed to act
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates H.R. 1723 would increase deficits by less than $500,000 in every year and over the 2026–2035 period — an insignificant net budgetary effect.
H.R. 1723 would exempt Indian tribes from the definition of "employer" under the National Labor Relations Act, removing them from National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) oversight. CBO estimates the bill would reduce revenues and direct (mandatory) spending by an insignificant amount — each less than $500,000 per year and cumulatively over the 2026–2035 window — because fewer employers would be subject to NLRB-enforced fines that feed the Crime Victims Fund. Any effect on the NLRB's operating costs (discretionary spending subject to annual appropriations) would also be negligible over the 2026–2030 period. The bill contains a private-sector mandate — eliminating employees of tribal enterprises' right to file certain labor-practice claims — but CBO estimates the cost of that mandate falls well below UMRA's private-sector threshold ($206 million in 2025); it contains no intergovernmental mandates.
How implementation would work
The change would take effect through the amended statutory definition of "employer" in the National Labor Relations Act itself, without requiring new agency rulemaking. Once enacted, the National Labor Relations Board would no longer assert jurisdiction over labor disputes involving tribes or tribally owned enterprises on Indian lands, similar to how it already treats federal, state, and local governments as excluded employers. Any resulting labor-relations framework for those workplaces would depend on tribal law or voluntary agreements rather than federal board oversight or enforcement.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 393.
Official CRS summary
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Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2025
This bill excludes Indian tribes and tribal enterprises and institutions on tribal land from requirements for employers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). (Currently under the NLRA, employers may not engage in unfair labor practices and must allow employees to form unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take collective action.)
Legislative subjects
Federal-Indian relations; Indian lands and resources rights; Labor-management relations; Minority employment; Native Americans
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-458