Sure-Tan, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board (1983)
- Docket
- 82-945
- Decided
- 1983-01-01
Summary
Question: Does the National Labor Rights Act allow the National Labor Relations Board to properly find that an employer has engaged in unfair labor practices by reporting illegal union laborers to the Immigration and Naturalization Service in retaliation for economic activity and issue a remedial order? Conclusion: Yes. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor delivered the opinion of the 7-2 majority. The Court held that that the NLRB can act to protect the labor rights of illegal immigrants because it serves the broader purpose of labor to have all workers represented, regardless of immigration status. Precedent establishes that the Board can protect the rights of any employee. The petitioners’ actions illegally discouraged union activity and caused the deportation of their employees. The Court also held that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit impermissibly expanded its authority by modifying the order of the NLRB in regards to backpay. Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. wrote an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. He argued that the majority erred in remanding the case to the Court of Appeals, as the judgment of the Court of Appeals should be affirmed in its entirety. Since the NLRB acquiesced to the remedy provided by the Court of Appeals, no purpose was served by reconsideration. Justice Thurgood Marshall, Justice Harry A. Blackmun, and Justice John Paul Stevens joined in the opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. Justice Lewis F. Powell wrote an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part where he argued that illegal aliens are not considered employees under the National Labor Rights Act. Since illegal aliens are actively violating United States criminal laws, the Act does not afford them protection. Justice William H. Rehnquist joined in the opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.