Babb v. Wilkie

Decided April 6, 2020. Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 18-882 · 589 U.S. 399 (2020) · Cited 279 times

Holding

The plain meaning of 29 U. S. C. §633a(a), the federal-sector provision of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, demands that personnel actions be untainted by any consideration of age, but but-for causation is important in determining the appropriate remedy that may be obtained.

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 8–1.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

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.

• Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. · 557 U.S. 167 (2009)
• Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle · 429 U.S. 274 (1977)
• Safeco Insurance Co. of America v. Burr · 551 U.S. 47 (2007)
• Lehman v. Nakshian · 453 U.S. 156 (1981)
• Texas v. Lesage · 528 U.S. 18 (1999)
• Gomez-Perez v. Potter · 553 U.S. 474 (2008)
• McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green · 411 U.S. 792 (1973)
• Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 523 U.S. 83 (1998)
• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins · 490 U.S. 228 (1989)
• Connecticut National Bank v. Germain · 503 U.S. 249 (1992)
• Russello v. United States · 464 U.S. 16 (1983)
• Desert Palace, Inc. v. Costa · 539 U.S. 90 (2003)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• United States v. Gonzales · 520 U.S. 1 (1997)
• Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education · 544 U.S. 167 (2005)
• Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prisons · 552 U.S. 214 (2008)
• Christopher v. Smithkline Beecham Corp. · 567 U.S. 142 (2012)
• Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory · 554 U.S. 84 (2008)
• United States v. Clark · 454 U.S. 555 (1982)
• Comcast Corp. v. National Assn. of African-American Owned Media · 589 U.S. 327 (2020)

Cited by

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

• Campos-Chaves v. Garland · 602 U.S. 447 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

Explore from here

Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2020). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).