Docket nos. 89-1215 Argument Oral argument End date 1991 | Citations 499 U.S. 187 (more) Opinion announcement Opinion announcement | |
Full case name International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers Of America, UAW, et al. vs. Johnson Controls, Inc. Majority Blackmun, joined by Marshall, Stevens, O'Connor, Souter Similar Phillips v Martin Marietta, Wards Cove Packing, Meritor Savings Bank v Vi, Griggs v Duke Power Co, Muller v Oregon | ||
United Automobile Workers v. Johnson Controls, Inc. 499 U.S. 187 (1991) is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States establishing that private sector policies which allow men but not women to knowingly work in potentially hazardous occupations is gender discrimination and violates Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. At the time the case was heard, it was considered one of the most important sex-discrimination cases since the passage of Title VII.
Opinion of the Court
The majority opinion by Justice Blackmun held that that Title VII prohibits gender specific fetal protection policies. Hence based on that statute, the Court decided against Johnson Controls by concluding that the company’s fetal protection policy contravened Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the PDA; and the company's gender-specific rule was biased and inequitable because it permitted fertile men, but not fertile women, to decide whether to work in jobs subjected to lead exposure while manufacturing batteries.