Zempel v. Uninsured Employers' Fund [2/21/96] 1996 MTWCC 19 Because requiring workers' compensation insurance increases the cost of doing business and may impact tribal economy, workers' compensation laws are preempted by federal law and inapplicable on a reservation absent some agreement to the contrary. Although the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes had adopted an ordinance, authorized by section 25 U.S.C. section 1322 (1992), to extend certain laws and jurisdiction of the state of Montana onto the reservation, workers' compensation laws were not included.