Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Kimberly B. Ellerth

Decided June 26, 1998. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 97-569 · 524 U.S. 742 (1998) · Cited 4,775 times

Holding

Under Title VII, an employee who refuses the unwelcome and threatening sexual advances of a supervisor, yet suffers no adverse, tangible job consequences, may recover against the employer without showing the employer is negligent or otherwise at fault for the supervisor’s actions, but the employer may interpose an affirmative defense.

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 7–2.

“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.

• Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson · 477 U.S. 57 (1986)
• Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. · 510 U.S. 17 (1993)
• United States v. Diebold, Inc. · 369 U.S. 654 (1962)
• Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. · 523 U.S. 75 (1998)
• Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois · 431 U.S. 720 (1977)
• Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid · 490 U.S. 730 (1989)
• McKennon v. Nashville Banner Publishing Co. · 513 U.S. 352 (1995)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 458 U.S. 219 (1982)
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Shell Oil Co. · 466 U.S. 54 (1984)
• Atherton v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. · 519 U.S. 213 (1997)

Cited by

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

• Vance v. Ball State Univ. · 570 U.S. 421 (2013)
• Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders · 542 U.S. 129 (2004)
• Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White · 548 U.S. 53 (2006)
• Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson Cty. · 555 U.S. 271 (2009)
• Staub v. Proctor Hospital · 562 U.S. 411 (2011)
• Meyer v. Holley · 537 U.S. 280 (2003)
• Clark County School District v. Breeden · 532 U.S. 268 (2001)
• Davis Ex Rel. LaShonda D. v. Monroe County Board of Education · 526 U.S. 629 (1999)
• Kolstad v. American Dental Assn. · 527 U.S. 526 (1999)

Official text

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

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Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1998). 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).