Local 28 of the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association et al. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission et al.

Decided July 2, 1986. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 84-1656 · 478 U.S. 421 (1986) · Cited 724 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

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.

• Firefighters Local Union No. 1784 v. Stotts · 467 U.S. 561 (1984)
• Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education · 476 U.S. 267 (1986)
• Fullilove v. Klutznick · 448 U.S. 448 (1980)
• United Steelworkers of America v. Weber · 443 U.S. 193 (1979)
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States · 431 U.S. 324 (1977)
• Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co. · 424 U.S. 747 (1976)
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke · 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
• Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody · 422 U.S. 405 (1975)
• United States v. United Mine Workers of America · 330 U.S. 258 (1947)
• Messenger v. Anderson · 225 U.S. 436 (1912)
• Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education · 402 U.S. 1 (1971)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 458 U.S. 219 (1982)
• McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green · 411 U.S. 792 (1973)
• Griggs v. Duke Power Co. · 401 U.S. 424 (1971)
• Udall v. Tallman · 380 U.S. 1 (1965)
• Loving v. Virginia · 388 U.S. 1 (1967)
• County of Los Angeles v. Davis · 440 U.S. 625 (1979)
• Lorillard v. Pons · 434 U.S. 575 (1978)
• Graham v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 365 (1971)
• Phelps Dodge Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · 313 U.S. 177 (1941)
• Brooklyn Savings Bank v. O'Neil · 324 U.S. 697 (1945)
• McComb v. Jacksonville Paper Co. · 336 U.S. 187 (1949)
• Hazelwood School District v. United States · 433 U.S. 299 (1977)
• National Collegiate Athletic Ass'n v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma · 468 U.S. 85 (1984)
• United States v. Rylander · 460 U.S. 752 (1983)
• Connecticut v. Teal · 457 U.S. 440 (1982)
• Maggio v. Zeitz · 333 U.S. 56 (1948)
• Walker v. City of Birmingham · 388 U.S. 307 (1967)
• North Haven Board of Education v. Bell · 456 U.S. 512 (1982)
• Palmore v. Sidoti · 466 U.S. 429 (1984)

Cited by

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

• United States v. Paradise · 480 U.S. 149 (1987)
• Martin v. Wilks · 490 U.S. 755 (1989)
• Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara Cty. · 480 U.S. 616 (1987)
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)
• Carey v. Musladin · 549 U.S. 70 (2006)
• City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co. · 488 U.S. 469 (1989)
• Grutter v. Bollinger · 539 U.S. 306 (2003)
• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins · 490 U.S. 228 (1989)
• Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena · 515 U.S. 200 (1995)
• Watson v. Fort Worth Bank & Trust · 487 U.S. 977 (1988)
• International Union, United Mine Workers v. Bagwell · 512 U.S. 821 (1994)
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Arabian American Oil Co. · 499 U.S. 244 (1991)
• Spallone v. United States · 493 U.S. 265 (1990)
• Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P. · 603 U.S. 204 (2024)

Official text

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

Explore from here

William Joseph Brennan Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).