Thursday, March 28, 2024

Managers may be fired for no cause

Managers may be fired for no cause

WINDOW ROCK

Hundreds of program managers working for the Navajo Nation’s executive branch may soon find themselves at risk of being fired for no cause.

portrait

Dwight Witherspoon

This is thanks to legislation recently passed by the Navajo Nation Council that would exempt program managers from the “just cause” protections that other tribal employees have under the Navajo Nation personnel code. Under the bill, any tribal employee who is viewed as a program manager in the executive branch could be fired at any time without cause the same as any other “at will” appointee, such as political appointees.

According to the bill, program managers are defined as anyone “who has the authority to hire, terminate, discipline or otherwise initiate personnel action” against other employees under them. This would affect as many as 200 employees of the tribe, according to estimates from the personnel department.

The bill, sponsored by Dwight Witherspoon (Black Mesa, Forest Lake, Hard Rock, Piñon and Whippoorwill), was approved by an 8-7 vote and is now on the desk of Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye for approval.

Witherspoon said he sponsored the proposal to make program managers more accountable and to make the tribal government more efficient.

“The purpose is to be able to hold our employees and supervisors more accountable to carry out the work and the many needs of the Navajo Nation,” he said. “We want our tribal supervisors to be successful. That’s our goal.”


 To read the full article, pick up your copy of the Navajo Times at your nearest newsstand Thursday mornings!

Are you a digital subscriber? Read the most recent three weeks of stories by logging in to your online account.

  Find newsstand locations at this link.

Or, subscribe via mail or online here.




About The Author

Bill Donovan

Bill Donovan wrote about Navajo Nation government and its people since 1971. He joined Navajo Times in 1976, and retired from full-time reporting in 2018 to move to Torrance, Calif., to be near his kids. He continued to write for the Times until his passing in August 2022.

ADVERTISEMENT

Weather & Road Conditions

Window Rock Weather

Fair

23.0 F (-5.0 C)
Dewpoint: 21.0 F (-6.1 C)
Humidity: 92%
Wind: Calm
Pressure: 30.18

More weather »

ADVERTISEMENT