WHAT IS TERO?
TERO stands for Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance or Office. TERO Ordinances require
that all employers who are engaged in operating a business on reservations give
preference to qualified Indians in all aspects of employment, contracting and other
business activities. TERO Offices were established and empowered to monitor and
enforce the requirements of the tribal employment rights ordinance.
WHY WAS THE TERO ORDINANCE ENACTED?
1. To address the deplorable rate of poverty, unemployment and underemployment that
exists among native people living on reservations.
2. To eliminate discriminatory and other historical barriers tribal members face
while seeking employment and business opportunities on or near reservations.
3. To ensure that tribal members receive their rightful entitlements as intended
under the concept of Indian preference.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE TERO PROGRAM?
The primary purpose of the TERO program is to enforce tribal law in order is to
insure that Indian/Alaska Native people gain their rightful share to employment
training, contracting, subcontracting, and all other economic opportunities on and
near reservations or native villages.
WHIAT DOES THE TERO ORDINANCE DO?
The TERO ordinance:
1. SETS CONDITIONS: Mandates the tribal requirements for Indian preference that
all covered employers must comply with, in order to be eligible to perform work
on reservations.
2. ESTABLISHES.AUTHORITY: Empowers the TERO Commission & Staff with sufficient authority
to fully enforce all provisions of TERO ordinance.
3. PROVIDES DUE PROCESS OF LAW: It provides principles of legal fairness to all
parties involved in compliance or violation dispute issue.
WHAT IS INDIAN PREFERENCE?
Indian preference a unique legal right tribal members have that entities them to
first consideration to all employment, training, contracting and subcontracting
and business opportunities that exist on and in some cases near reservations.
ARE INDIAN PREFFRENCE AND TERO NEW CONCEPTS?
No. Indian preference first appeared in Federal regulations in 1834. The first major
Indian preference legislation passed by Congress was the Buy Indian Act of 1910
which has figured prominently in most subsequent, related legislation since then,
e.g. the Indian Education Self Determination and Education Assistant Act of 1974
and the Intermodel Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). Tribal
Employment Rights Ordinances (TEROs) were initially founded in late 1976 and early
1977. Today there are almost 300 Tribes and Alaska Native Villages covered by TERO
ordinances.
A full and accurate explanation of Tribal sovereignty is found in
Felix S. Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law (ISBN 0872154130) Also,
see appendix for other supporting legal decisions on this issue.
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