Local Number 93, International Association of Firefighters, Afl-Cio, C. L. C. v. City of Cleveland et al.

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

Docket 84-1999 · 478 U.S. 501 (1986) · Cited 850 times

Holding

Section 706(g) of Title VII does not preclude entry of a consent decree, such as was entered in this case, that may benefit individuals who were not the actual victims of the defendant's discriminatory practices; whether or not 706(g) precludes a court from imposing certain forms of race-conscious relief after trial, it does not apply to relief awarded in a consent decree.

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.

• Firefighters Local Union No. 1784 v. Stotts · 467 U.S. 561 (1984)
• United Steelworkers of America v. Weber · 443 U.S. 193 (1979)
• System Federation No. 91 v. Wright · 364 U.S. 642 (1961)
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States · 431 U.S. 324 (1977)
• Zipes v. Trans World Airlines, Inc. · 455 U.S. 385 (1982)
• Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education · 476 U.S. 267 (1986)
• United States v. Armour & Co. · 402 U.S. 673 (1971)
• Pacific Railroad v. Ketchum · 101 U.S. 289 (1880)
• Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co. · 424 U.S. 747 (1976)
• United States v. ITT Continental Baking Co. · 420 U.S. 223 (1975)
• Swift & Co. v. United States · 276 U.S. 311 (1928)
• McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co. · 427 U.S. 273 (1976)
• W. R. Grace & Co. v. Local Union 759, International Union of the United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum & Plastic Workers · 461 U.S. 757 (1983)
• General Electric Co. v. Gilbert · 429 U.S. 125 (1976)
• Carson v. American Brands, Inc. · 450 U.S. 79 (1981)
• Skidmore v. Swift & Co. · 323 U.S. 134 (1944)
• Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody · 422 U.S. 405 (1975)
• Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co. · 415 U.S. 36 (1974)
• United States v. Swift & Co. · 286 U.S. 106 (1932)
• American Tobacco Co. v. Patterson · 456 U.S. 63 (1982)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 458 U.S. 219 (1982)

Cited by

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

• Texas v. New Mexico · 602 U.S. 943 (2024)
• Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara Cty. · 480 U.S. 616 (1987)
• Frew Ex Rel. Frew v. Hawkins · 540 U.S. 431 (2004)
• Martin v. Wilks · 490 U.S. 755 (1989)
• Ricci v. DeStefano · 557 U.S. 557 (2009)
• Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Inc. · 550 U.S. 618 (2007)
• Rufo v. Inmates of Suffolk County Jail · 502 U.S. 367 (1992)
• Lackey v. Stinnie · 604 U.S. 192 (2025)
• Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P. · 603 U.S. 204 (2024)

Official text

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

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

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1986). 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).