Robinson v. Shell Oil Co.
- Decided
- February 18, 1997
- Docket
- 95-1376
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 2,720 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- recognizing that the “first step in interpreting a statute is to determine whether the language at issue has a plain and unambiguous meaning” — Thompson v. Goetzmann (2002)
- recognizing that the "first step in interpreting a statute is to determine whether the language at issue has a plain and unambiguous meaning" — Thompson v. Goetzmann (2003)
- holding that the term “employees” carries a different meaning in different sections of Title VII — Joffe v. Google, Inc. (2013)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*339] Justice Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.
Section 704(a) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it unlawful “for an employer to discriminate against any of his employees or applicants for employment” who have either availed themselves of Title VII’s protections or assisted others in so doing. 78 Stat. 257, as amended, 42 U. S. C. § 2000e-3(a). We are asked to decide in this case whether the term “employees,” as used in § 704(a), includes former employees, such that petitioner may bring suit against his former employer for postemployment actions allegedly taken' in retaliation for petitioner’s having filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, sitting en banc, held that the term “employees” in § 704(a) referred only to current employees and therefore petitioner’s claim was not cognizable under Title VII. We granted certiorari, 517 U. S. 1154 (1996), and now reverse.
I
Statutes cited
Cite this
Robinson v. Shell Oil Co., 519 U.S. 337 (1997)Read the full opinion
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