Labor Relations in Parochial Schools: Should Lay Teachers Be Denied Protection of the General Laws?

This Comment examines the history of the National Labor Relations Act, focusing on the Supreme Court\u27s construction of the Act in NLRB v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago, in which the Court held that religious organizations were not employers under the NLRA. The author argues that the effect of this holding was to deprive law parochial teachers of statutory protection of their right to engage in collective bargaining. The author further argues that Congress must act to redefine the term employer. The author continues to examine the constitutional issues that would arise if Congress gave the NLRB statutory authority to assert jurisdiction over parochial schools. The author concludes by suggesting remedial legislation to protect the right of such teachers to organize and bargain collectively and argues that such legislation is necessary to ensure that parochial school teachers are treated fairly in the job market