California Brewers Assn. et al. v. Bryant et al.

Decided February 20, 1980. Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 78-1548 · 444 U.S. 598 (1980) · Cited 112 times

Holding

The Court of Appeals erred in holding that the 45-week requirement is not a component of a "seniority system" within the meaning of 703(h).

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 4–3.

“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.

• International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States · 431 U.S. 324 (1977)
• Griggs v. Duke Power Co. · 401 U.S. 424 (1971)
• United Air Lines, Inc. v. Evans · 431 U.S. 553 (1977)
• United Steelworkers of America v. Weber · 443 U.S. 193 (1979)
• Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co. · 424 U.S. 747 (1976)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman · 345 U.S. 330 (1953)
• Peyton v. Rowe · 391 U.S. 54 (1968)
• Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison · 432 U.S. 63 (1977)
• Group Life & Health Insurance v. Royal Drug Co. · 440 U.S. 205 (1979)
• A. H. Phillips, Inc. v. Walling · 324 U.S. 490 (1945)
• H. K. Porter Co. v. National Labor Relations Board · 397 U.S. 99 (1970)
• Abbott Laboratories v. Portland Retail Druggists Assn., Inc. · 425 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Aeronautical Industrial District Lodge 727 v. Campbell · 337 U.S. 521 (1949)

Cited by

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

• American Tobacco Co. v. Patterson · 456 U.S. 63 (1982)
• Lorance v. At&t Technologies, Inc. · 490 U.S. 900 (1989)
• Fullilove v. Klutznick · 448 U.S. 448 (1980)
• Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education · 476 U.S. 267 (1986)
• Eastern Associated Coal Corp. v. United Mine Workers, District 17 · 531 U.S. 57 (2000)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1980). 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).