Furnco Construction Corp. v. Waters et al.

Decided June 29, 1978. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 77-369 · 438 U.S. 567 (1978) · Cited 2,372 times

Holding

The Court of Appeals erred in its treatment of the nature of the evidence necessary to rebut a prima facie case under McDonnell Douglas, and in substituting its own judgment as to the prope hiring practices for an employer who claims its hiring practices do not violate Title VII.

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.

• McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green · 411 U.S. 792 (1973)
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States · 431 U.S. 324 (1977)
• Griggs v. Duke Power Co. · 401 U.S. 424 (1971)
• Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody · 422 U.S. 405 (1975)
• Dothard v. Rawlinson · 433 U.S. 321 (1977)
• McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co. · 427 U.S. 273 (1976)
• General Electric Co. v. Gilbert · 429 U.S. 125 (1976)

Cited by

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

• St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks · 509 U.S. 502 (1993)
• Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc. · 575 U.S. 206 (2015)
• Board of Trustees of Keene State College v. Sweeney · 439 U.S. 24 (1978)
• Connecticut v. Teal · 457 U.S. 440 (1982)
• Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc. · 530 U.S. 133 (2000)
• Watson v. Fort Worth Bank & Trust · 487 U.S. 977 (1988)
• Comcast Corp. v. National Assn. of African-American Owned Media · 589 U.S. 327 (2020)
• Texas Department of Community Affairs v. Burdine · 450 U.S. 248 (1981)
• United States Postal Service Board of Governors v. Aikens · 460 U.S. 711 (1983)
• Patterson v. McLean Credit Union · 491 U.S. 164 (1989)
• United Steelworkers of America v. Weber · 443 U.S. 193 (1979)
• Cooper v. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond · 467 U.S. 867 (1984)
• Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N. A. · 534 U.S. 506 (2002)
• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins · 490 U.S. 228 (1989)
• Pullman-Standard v. Swint · 456 U.S. 273 (1982)
• Hazen Paper Co. v. Biggins · 507 U.S. 604 (1993)
• Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio · 490 U.S. 642 (1989)
• General Building Contractors Assn., Inc. v. Pennsylvania · 458 U.S. 375 (1982)
• Johnson v. California · 545 U.S. 162 (2005)
• Goodman v. Lukens Steel Co. · 482 U.S. 656 (1987)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 458 U.S. 219 (1982)
• Western Air Lines, Inc. v. Criswell · 472 U.S. 400 (1985)
• Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services · 605 U.S. 303 (2025)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1978). 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).