Pennsylvania State Police v. Nancy Drew Suders

Decided June 14, 2004. Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 03-95 · 542 U.S. 129 (2004) · Cited 1,256 times

Holding

To establish “constructive discharge,” a plaintiff alleging sexual harassment must show that the abusive working environment became so intolerable that her resignation qualified as a fitting response.

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 8–1.

“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.

• Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth · 524 U.S. 742 (1998)
• Faragher v. City of Boca Raton · 524 U.S. 775 (1998)
• Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson · 477 U.S. 57 (1986)
• Miranda v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
• Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. · 510 U.S. 17 (1993)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 458 U.S. 219 (1982)
• Sure-Tan, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board · 467 U.S. 883 (1984)
• Pollard v. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. · 532 U.S. 843 (2001)

Cited by

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

• Green v. Brennan · 578 U.S. 547 (2016)
• Vance v. Ball State Univ. · 570 U.S. 421 (2013)
• Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. · 551 U.S. 449 (2007)
• Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White · 548 U.S. 53 (2006)
• Arbaugh v. Y & H Corp. · 546 U.S. 500 (2006)
• Staub v. Proctor Hospital · 562 U.S. 411 (2011)

Official text

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

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2004). 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).