Adams Fruit Co., Inc. v. Barrett et al.

Decided March 21, 1990. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 88-2035 · 494 U.S. 638 (1990) · Cited 320 times

Holding

Exclusivity provisions in state workers' compensation laws do not bar migrant workers from availing themselves of a private right of action under 1854.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• United States v. Demko · 385 U.S. 149 (1966)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Shaw v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. · 463 U.S. 85 (1983)
• Gomez v. Toledo · 446 U.S. 635 (1980)
• Consumer Product Safety Commission v. GTE Sylvania, Inc. · 447 U.S. 102 (1980)
• Bowen v. Georgetown University Hospital · 488 U.S. 204 (1988)
• Jones v. Rath Packing Co. · 430 U.S. 519 (1977)
• Davis v. Michigan Department of the Treasury · 489 U.S. 803 (1989)
• MacKey v. Lanier Collection Agency & Service, Inc. · 486 U.S. 825 (1988)
• Rubin v. United States · 449 U.S. 424 (1981)
• Robertson v. Wegmann · 436 U.S. 584 (1978)
• Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad v. Muscoda Local No. 123 · 321 U.S. 590 (1944)
• Crandon v. United States · 494 U.S. 152 (1990)
• American Ship Building Co. v. National Labor Relations Board · 380 U.S. 300 (1965)
• National Labor Relations Board v. United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Local 23 · 484 U.S. 112 (1987)
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms v. Federal Labor Relations Authority · 464 U.S. 89 (1983)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Sloan · 436 U.S. 103 (1978)
• Federal Maritime Commission v. Seatrain Lines, Inc. · 411 U.S. 726 (1973)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Natural Gas Utility District · 402 U.S. 600 (1971)
• Adamo Wrecking Co. v. United States · 434 U.S. 275 (1978)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• City of Arlington v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n · 569 U.S. 290 (2013)
• Smith v. Berryhill · 587 U.S. 471 (2019)
• Global Crossing Telecommunications, Inc. v. Metrophones Telecommunications, Inc. · 550 U.S. 45 (2007)
• Kisor v. Wilkie · 588 U.S. 558 (2019)
• Williams v. Taylor · 529 U.S. 362 (2000)
• United States v. Mead Corp. · 533 U.S. 218 (2001)
• BFP v. Resolution Trust Corporation · 511 U.S. 531 (1994)
• Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis · 584 U.S. 497 (2018)
• Hughey v. United States · 495 U.S. 411 (1990)
• Ardestani v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 502 U.S. 129 (1991)
• Gonzales v. Oregon · 546 U.S. 243 (2006)
• Pauley v. BethEnergy Mines, Inc. · 501 U.S. 680 (1991)
• Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo · 603 U.S. 369 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

Thurgood Marshall’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1990). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).