Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara County, California, et al.

Decided March 24, 1987. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 85-1129 · 480 U.S. 616 (1987) · Cited 538 times

Holding

The Agency appropriately took into account Joyce's sex as one factor in determining that she should be promoted.

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 6–3.

“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 Steelworkers of America v. Weber · 443 U.S. 193 (1979)
• Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education · 476 U.S. 267 (1986)
• Local Number 93, International Ass'n of Firefighters v. City of Cleveland · 478 U.S. 501 (1986)
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke · 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
• Local 28 of the Sheet Metal Workers' International Ass'n v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 478 U.S. 421 (1986)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States · 431 U.S. 324 (1977)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co. · 427 U.S. 273 (1976)
• Griggs v. Duke Power Co. · 401 U.S. 424 (1971)
• Runyon v. McCrary · 427 U.S. 160 (1976)
• Hazelwood School District v. United States · 433 U.S. 299 (1977)
• McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green · 411 U.S. 792 (1973)
• Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co. · 415 U.S. 36 (1974)
• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States · 143 U.S. 457 (1892)
• General Electric Co. v. Gilbert · 429 U.S. 125 (1976)
• Dothard v. Rawlinson · 433 U.S. 321 (1977)
• Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 462 U.S. 669 (1983)
• United States v. Public Utilities Commission · 345 U.S. 295 (1953)

Cited by

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

• Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community · 572 U.S. 782 (2014)
• Ricci v. DeStefano · 557 U.S. 557 (2009)
• City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co. · 488 U.S. 469 (1989)
• West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc. v. Casey · 499 U.S. 83 (1991)
• Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 497 U.S. 547 (1990)
• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins · 490 U.S. 228 (1989)
• Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. · 523 U.S. 75 (1998)
• Gamble v. United States · 587 U.S. 678 (2019)
• Patterson v. McLean Credit Union · 491 U.S. 164 (1989)
• Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois · 497 U.S. 62 (1990)
• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• Food & Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. · 529 U.S. 120 (2000)
• Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A. · 511 U.S. 164 (1994)
• Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio · 490 U.S. 642 (1989)
• Grutter v. Bollinger · 539 U.S. 306 (2003)
• Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Greenwich Collieries · 512 U.S. 267 (1994)
• Martin v. Wilks · 490 U.S. 755 (1989)
• Gratz v. Bollinger · 539 U.S. 244 (2003)
• Holder v. Hall · 512 U.S. 874 (1994)
• Lorance v. At&t Technologies, Inc. · 490 U.S. 900 (1989)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1987). 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).