Ingersoll-Rand Company v. Perry McClendon

Decided December 3, 1990. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-1298 · 498 U.S. 133 (1990) · Cited 1,857 times

Holding

ERISA's explicit language and its structure and purpose demonstrate a congressional intent to pre-empt a state common law claim that an employee was unlawfully discharged to prevent his attainment of benefits under an ERISA-covered plan.

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.

• Shaw v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. · 463 U.S. 85 (1983)
• Pilot Life Insurance v. Dedeaux · 481 U.S. 41 (1987)
• MacKey v. Lanier Collection Agency & Service, Inc. · 486 U.S. 825 (1988)
• Fort Halifax Packing Co. v. Coyne · 482 U.S. 1 (1987)
• English v. General Electric Co. · 496 U.S. 72 (1990)
• Hillsborough County v. Automated Medical Laboratories, Inc. · 471 U.S. 707 (1985)
• Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Taylor · 481 U.S. 58 (1987)
• Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck · 471 U.S. 202 (1985)
• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance v. Russell · 473 U.S. 134 (1985)
• Lingle v. Norge Division of Magic Chef, Inc. · 486 U.S. 399 (1988)
• Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Massachusetts · 471 U.S. 724 (1985)
• Alessi v. Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc. · 451 U.S. 504 (1981)
• Malone v. White Motor Corp. · 435 U.S. 497 (1978)

Cited by

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

• Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila · 542 U.S. 200 (2004)
• New York State Conference of Blue Cross & Blue Shield Plans v. Travelers Insurance · 514 U.S. 645 (1995)
• California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement v. Dillingham Construction, N. A. · 519 U.S. 316 (1997)
• Gobeille v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. · 577 U.S. 312 (2016)
• Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc. · 504 U.S. 374 (1992)
• District of Columbia v. Greater Washington Board of Trade · 506 U.S. 125 (1992)
• Rush Prudential HMO, Inc. v. Moran · 536 U.S. 355 (2002)
• Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling · 584 U.S. 709 (2018)
• Mertens v. Hewitt Associates · 508 U.S. 248 (1993)
• Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Assn. · 505 U.S. 88 (1992)
• De Buono v. NYSA-ILA Medical & Clinical Services Fund Ex Rel. Bowers · 520 U.S. 806 (1997)
• Inter-Modal Rail Employees Ass'n v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. · 520 U.S. 510 (1997)
• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. · 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
• Hazen Paper Co. v. Biggins · 507 U.S. 604 (1993)
• Egelhoff v. Egelhoff Ex Rel. Breiner · 532 U.S. 141 (2001)
• American Airlines, Inc. v. Wolens · 513 U.S. 219 (1995)
• Wisconsin Public Intervenor v. Mortier · 501 U.S. 597 (1991)
• Boggs v. Boggs · 520 U.S. 833 (1997)
• Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings & Investment Plan · 555 U.S. 285 (2009)
• Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Assn. · 592 U.S. 80 (2020)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Sandra Day O'Connor’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1990). 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).