Maetta Vance, Petitioner v. Ball State University

Decided June 24, 2013. Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 11-556 · 570 U.S. 421 (2013) · Cited 946 times

Holding

An employee is a “supervisor” for purposes of vicarious liability under Title VII only if he or she is empowered by the employer to take tangible employment actions against the victim.

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.

• Faragher v. City of Boca Raton · 524 U.S. 775 (1998)
• Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth · 524 U.S. 742 (1998)
• Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders · 542 U.S. 129 (2004)
• Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson · 477 U.S. 57 (1986)
• Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. · 523 U.S. 75 (1998)
• Skidmore v. Swift & Co. · 323 U.S. 134 (1944)
• Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Inc. · 550 U.S. 618 (2007)
• Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. · 510 U.S. 17 (1993)
• Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White · 548 U.S. 53 (2006)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Health Care & Retirement Corp. of America · 511 U.S. 571 (1994)
• McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green · 411 U.S. 792 (1973)
• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins · 490 U.S. 228 (1989)
• United States v. Mead Corp. · 533 U.S. 218 (2001)
• Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. · 557 U.S. 167 (2009)
• Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio · 490 U.S. 642 (1989)
• Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson Cty. · 555 U.S. 271 (2009)
• Federal Express Corp. v. Holowecki · 552 U.S. 389 (2008)
• Martin v. Wilks · 490 U.S. 755 (1989)
• Lorance v. At&t Technologies, Inc. · 490 U.S. 900 (1989)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)

Cited by

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

• Borden v. United States · 593 U.S. 420 (2021)
• Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services · 605 U.S. 303 (2025)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2013). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).