Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Decided March 27, 2002. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 00-1595 · 535 U.S. 137 (2002) · Cited 309 times

Holding

Federal immigration policy, as expressed by Congress in IRCA, foreclosed the Board from awarding backpay to an undocumented alien who has never been legally authorized to work in the United States.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Sure-Tan, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board · 467 U.S. 883 (1984)
• ABF Freight System, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board · 510 U.S. 317 (1994)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp. · 306 U.S. 240 (1939)
• Southern Steamship Co. v. National Labor Relations Board · 316 U.S. 31 (1942)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Bildisco & Bildisco · 465 U.S. 513 (1984)
• Burlington Truck Lines, Inc. v. United States · 371 U.S. 156 (1962)
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Waffle House, Inc. · 534 U.S. 279 (2002)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Seven-Up Bottling Co. of Miami, Inc. · 344 U.S. 344 (1953)
• Local 1976, United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners v. National Labor Relations Board · 357 U.S. 93 (1958)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. National Center for Immigrants' Rights, Inc. · 502 U.S. 183 (1991)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody · 422 U.S. 405 (1975)
• United States v. Mead Corp. · 533 U.S. 218 (2001)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Gissel Packing Co. · 395 U.S. 575 (1969)
• Phelps Dodge Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · 313 U.S. 177 (1941)
• Reiter v. Sonotone Corp. · 442 U.S. 330 (1979)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Transportation Management Corp. · 462 U.S. 393 (1983)
• De Canas v. Bica · 424 U.S. 351 (1976)
• Golden State Bottling Co. v. National Labor Relations Board · 414 U.S. 168 (1973)
• Jean v. Nelson · 472 U.S. 846 (1985)
• Connell Construction Co. v. Plumbers & Steamfitters Local Union No. 100 · 421 U.S. 616 (1975)
• Republic Steel Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · 311 U.S. 7 (1940)
• National Labor Relations Board v. J. H. Rutter-Rex Manufacturing Co. · 396 U.S. 258 (1969)

Cited by

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

• Chamber of Commerce of United States of America v. Whiting · 563 U.S. 582 (2011)
• Kansas v. Garcia · 589 U.S. 191 (2020)
• Arizona v. United States · 567 U.S. 387 (2012)
• Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis · 584 U.S. 497 (2018)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2002). 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).