INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS v. UNITED STATES ET AL., 431 U.S. 324

Summary

On appeal, the union contended that the seniority system contained in the collective-bargaining agreements did not violate Title VII. The Court held that, because the seniority system was protected by § 703(h) (42 U.S.C.S. § 2000e-2(h)) of Title VII, the union's conduct in agreeing to and maintaining the system did not violate Title VII. The unmistakable purpose of § 703(h) was to make clear that the routine application of a bona fide seniority system would not be unlawful under Title VII. As the legislative history showed, the result was intended even where the employer's pre-Title VII discrimination resulted in whites having greater existing seniority rights than minorities. Although a seniority system inevitably tended to perpetuate the effects of pre-Title VII discrimination in such cases, the congressional judgment was that Title VII should not outlaw the use of existing seniority lists and thereby destroy or water down the vested seniority rights of employees simply because their...