Charles T. Robinson, Sr. v. Shell Oil Company

Decided February 18, 1997. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 95-1376 · 519 U.S. 337 (1997) · Cited 2,720 times

Holding

Because the term “employees,” as used in § 704(a) of Title VII, includes former employees, petitioner may sue respondent for its allegedly retaliatory postemployment actions.

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. Ron Pair Enterprises, Inc. · 489 U.S. 235 (1989)
• Connecticut National Bank v. Germain · 503 U.S. 249 (1992)
• Flemming v. Nestor · 363 U.S. 603 (1960)
• Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Co. · 505 U.S. 469 (1992)
• Richardson v. Belcher · 404 U.S. 78 (1971)
• Loeffler v. Frank · 486 U.S. 549 (1988)
• Mitchell v. Robert DeMario Jewelry, Inc. · 361 U.S. 288 (1960)
• McCarthy v. Bronson · 500 U.S. 136 (1991)
• Nash v. Florida Industrial Commission · 389 U.S. 235 (1967)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Scrivener · 405 U.S. 117 (1972)

Cited by

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

• Environmental Defense v. Duke Energy Corporation · 549 U.S. 561 (2007)
• Stanley v. City of Sanford · 606 U.S. 46 (2025)
• Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White · 548 U.S. 53 (2006)
• Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prisons · 552 U.S. 214 (2008)
• Florida Department of Revenue v. Piccadilly Cafeterias, Inc. · 554 U.S. 33 (2008)
• Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl · 570 U.S. 637 (2013)
• Life Technologies Corp. v. Promega Corp. · 580 U.S. 140 (2017)
• Barnhart v. Sigmon Coal Co. · 534 U.S. 438 (2002)
• McNeill v. United States · 563 U.S. 816 (2011)
• Fischer v. United States · 603 U.S. 480 (2024)
• Nken v. Holder · 556 U.S. 418 (2009)
• Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education · 544 U.S. 167 (2005)
• Smith v. City of Jackson · 544 U.S. 228 (2005)
• Federal Aviation Administration v. Cooper · 566 U.S. 284 (2012)
• General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc. v. Cline · 540 U.S. 581 (2004)
• Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, Inc. · 566 U.S. 93 (2012)
• Barber v. Thomas · 560 U.S. 474 (2010)
• Metropolitan Stevedore Co. v. Rambo · 521 U.S. 121 (1997)
• Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T Inc. · 562 U.S. 397 (2011)
• Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd. v. Novo Nordisk A/s · 566 U.S. 399 (2012)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1997). 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).