Chandler v. Roudebush, Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, et al.

Decided June 1, 1976. Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 74-1599 · 425 U.S. 840 (1976) · Cited 586 times

Holding

The plain meaning of the statute, reinforced by the legislative history of the 1972 amendments, compels the conclusion that federal employees have the same right to a trial De novo as is enjoyed by private sector or state government employees under the amended Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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.

• Consolo v. Federal Maritime Commission · 383 U.S. 607 (1966)
• United States v. Carlo Bianchi & Co. · 373 U.S. 709 (1963)
• Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co. · 415 U.S. 36 (1974)
• McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green · 411 U.S. 792 (1973)
• Morton v. Mancari · 417 U.S. 535 (1974)
• Lynch v. Alworth-Stephens Co. · 267 U.S. 364 (1925)
• United States v. International Union United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers · 352 U.S. 567 (1957)

Cited by

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

• University of Tennessee v. Elliott · 478 U.S. 788 (1986)
• Kremer v. Chemical Construction Corp. · 456 U.S. 461 (1982)
• Bush v. Lucas · 462 U.S. 367 (1983)
• Astoria Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Solimino · 501 U.S. 104 (1991)
• Loeffler v. Frank · 486 U.S. 549 (1988)
• Washington v. Davis · 426 U.S. 229 (1976)
• Library of Congress v. Shaw · 478 U.S. 310 (1986)
• Simpson v. United States · 435 U.S. 6 (1978)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Potter Stewart’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1976). 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).