Court Opinion

ID: 9842064
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-22 20:12:35.417971+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:09:29.048984
License: Public Domain

Justice Powell,
with whom Justice Rehnquist joins,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I dissent from the Court’s finding that the illegal aliens involved in this case are “employees” within the meaning of that term in the National Labor Relations Act. It is unlikely that Congress intended the term “employee” to include — for purposes of being accorded the benefits of that protective statute — persons wanted by the United States for the violation of our criminal laws. I therefore would hold that the illegal alien workers are not entitled to any remedy. Given the Court’s holding, however, that they are entitled to the protections of the NLRA, I join Part IV of the Court’s opinion.*

 Although the difference in the remedy approved by the Court and that urged in Justice Brennan’s opinion is essentially one of degree, the former provides less incentive for aliens to enter and reenter the United States illegally.