Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio v. Betts

Decided June 23, 1989. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 88-389 · 492 U.S. 158 (1989) · Cited 346 times

Holding

Section 4(f)(2) exempts all provisions of bona fide employee benefit plans from the purview of the ADEA, unless the plan is a subterfuge for discrimination in the non-fringe-benefit aspects of the employment relationship, and summary judgment for appellee was therefore inappropriate.

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 7–2.

“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 Air Lines, Inc. v. McMann · 434 U.S. 192 (1977)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, Administratrix of the Estate of Catrett · 477 U.S. 317 (1986)
• Blum v. Stenson · 465 U.S. 886 (1984)
• Consumer Product Safety Commission v. GTE Sylvania, Inc. · 447 U.S. 102 (1980)
• Bowen v. Georgetown University Hospital · 488 U.S. 204 (1988)
• Lorillard v. Pons · 434 U.S. 575 (1978)
• Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co. · 424 U.S. 747 (1976)
• Davis v. Michigan Department of the Treasury · 489 U.S. 803 (1989)
• General Electric Co. v. Gilbert · 429 U.S. 125 (1976)
• Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio · 490 U.S. 642 (1989)
• K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc. · 486 U.S. 281 (1988)
• United States v. Southwestern Cable Co. · 392 U.S. 157 (1968)
• Lorance v. At&t Technologies, Inc. · 490 U.S. 900 (1989)
• Western Air Lines, Inc. v. Criswell · 472 U.S. 400 (1985)
• Rainwater v. United States · 356 U.S. 590 (1958)
• Weinberger v. Rossi · 456 U.S. 25 (1982)
• Bethesda Hospital Assn. v. Bowen · 485 U.S. 399 (1988)
• Federal Energy Administration v. Algonquin SNG, Inc. · 426 U.S. 548 (1976)
• Alabama Power Co. v. Davis · 431 U.S. 581 (1977)
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Associated Dry Goods Corp. · 449 U.S. 590 (1981)

Cited by

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

• Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory · 554 U.S. 84 (2008)
• General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc. v. Cline · 540 U.S. 581 (2004)
• Smith v. City of Jackson · 544 U.S. 228 (2005)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Health Care & Retirement Corp. of America · 511 U.S. 571 (1994)
• Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A. · 511 U.S. 164 (1994)
• Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
• United States National Bank v. Independent Insurance Agents of America, Inc. · 508 U.S. 439 (1993)
• Demarest v. Manspeaker · 498 U.S. 184 (1991)
• John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance v. Harris Trust & Savings Bank · 510 U.S. 86 (1993)
• American Hospital Ass'n v. National Labor Relations Board · 499 U.S. 606 (1991)
• Sullivan v. Everhart · 494 U.S. 83 (1990)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1989). 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).