Holly Farms Corporation et al. v. National Labor Relations Labor Board et al.

Decided April 23, 1996. Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 95-210 · 517 U.S. 392 (1996) · Cited 204 times

Holding

The Board reasonably aligned the live-haul crews with Holly Farms’ processing operations, typing them covered “employee,” not exempt “agricultural laborer”; therefore, the Fourth Circuit properly deferred to the Board’s determination.

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.

• Bayside Enterprises, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board · 429 U.S. 298 (1977)
• Farmers Reservoir & Irrigation Co. v. McComb · 337 U.S. 755 (1949)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Hearst Publications, Inc. · 322 U.S. 111 (1944)
• Maneja v. Waialua Agricultural Co. · 349 U.S. 254 (1955)
• Reiter v. Sonotone Corp. · 442 U.S. 330 (1979)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Brown · 380 U.S. 278 (1965)
• Arnold v. Ben Kanowsky, Inc. · 361 U.S. 388 (1960)
• Sure-Tan, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board · 467 U.S. 883 (1984)
• American Ship Building Co. v. National Labor Relations Board · 380 U.S. 300 (1965)
• Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Epstein · 516 U.S. 367 (1996)
• Mitchell v. Kentucky Finance Co. · 359 U.S. 290 (1959)

Cited by

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

• United States v. Mead Corp. · 533 U.S. 218 (2001)
• Food & Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. · 529 U.S. 120 (2000)
• Regions Hospital v. Shalala · 522 U.S. 448 (1998)
• Household Credit Services, Inc. v. Pfennig · 541 U.S. 232 (2004)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1996). 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).