NLRB v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago
Citation
440 U.S. 490 (1979). Supreme Court of the United States.
Facts
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) asserted jurisdiction over lay teachers at Catholic parochial schools and ordered collective bargaining elections. The Catholic Church argued that extending NLRA jurisdiction to religious schools raised serious First Amendment Establishment Clause concerns — that NLRB oversight of the employment relationship would entangle government in religious institution governance.
Issue
Does the National Labor Relations Act grant the NLRB jurisdiction over lay teachers in church-operated schools?
Holding
The Court held that the NLRA did not grant the NLRB jurisdiction over religious school employees because Congress had not clearly expressed an intent to include them. The Court declined to decide whether such jurisdiction would be constitutionally permissible.
Rule / Doctrine
Constitutional avoidance canon: where a statute is susceptible of two constructions, courts adopt the construction that avoids a serious constitutional question — without deciding the constitutional question itself. The canon requires affirmative evidence of congressional intent to trigger the serious constitutional issue before the court will so construe the statute. The NLRA’s legislative history showed no clear expression of intent to cover religious school employees, so the canon counseled the narrower construction.
Significance
Catholic Bishop is the canonical case for the constitutional avoidance canon. It is distinguished from the “clear statement” rules in Gregory v. Ashcroft and other federalism cases: avoidance is a tool of last resort, used when a serious constitutional question is present and the statute is genuinely ambiguous.