Local 28 of the Sheet Metal Workers' International Ass'n v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Court Upholds Union Affirmative Action Plan to Fix Past Discrimination

This case involved Local 28 of the Sheet Metal Workers' union, which had a long history of discriminating against Black and Hispanic workers by excluding them from membership and job opportunities. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sought to force the union to take specific steps to remedy this discrimination, including setting goals for hiring and promoting minority workers.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the EEOC's approach. The Court decided that unions guilty of systematic discrimination could be required to implement affirmative action programs with specific numerical goals for minority hiring and promotion. The Court found these remedial measures were necessary and appropriate to correct the effects of the union's past discriminatory practices.

This decision matters for workers because it established that courts can order concrete steps to fix workplace discrimination, not just tell employers to "stop discriminating." When unions or employers have engaged in serious, long-term discrimination, they may be required to actively recruit and promote underrepresented workers to level the playing field. This gives workers and enforcement agencies stronger tools to address systematic discrimination and create real change in workplaces with histories of exclusion.