"This decision will help give the 1300 employees a little peace of mind going into the holiday season. They have been through a long year of uncertainty and deserve some good news before Christmas. I hope this will allow these families to get their lives back to normal."
This decision permits the tribe to reopen the casino and allows nearly 1,300 employees to return to work. The tribe plans to reopen the casino on New Year's Eve day. The tribe is already beginning to call employees back to work for training prior to the casino opening. In the meantime, former employees will receive pay for unused vacation time.
Grassley had previously encouraged the Department of the Interior to step in to help resolve the tribal dispute that resulted in the closure of the casino. This fall the tribe held elections with the help of BIA. BIA initially recognized the election results, a decision that was later appealed.
Grassley earlier this week called the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs and asked for an expedited ruling on the appeal. Yesterday, BIA affirmed its previous decision.
Grassley has also pushed the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) to complete the tasks that are necessary to lift the casino closure order. These tasks had largely been completed and the NIGC had been waiting on the BIA ruling.
For a copy of today's decision please contact Dustin Vande Hoef in Sen. Grassley's office.