Define: United Steelworkers Of America V. Weber (1979)

In the court case United Steelworkers of America v. Weber (1979), the Supreme Court ruled that companies are permitted to implement affirmative action programs in order to increase the representation of historically excluded minorities in certain job positions. The case involved a company that agreed to hire more black workers until their numbers matched those in the local labor market. A white worker filed a lawsuit claiming that he was not hired despite having more seniority than some of the black workers who were hired. The Supreme Court upheld the company’s program, stating that it was voluntary and that Congress had not explicitly prohibited affirmative action programs under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial discrimination in the workplace.

The United Steelworkers of America v. Weber (1979) case was a landmark Supreme Court decision regarding affirmative action programs in the workplace. The Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial discrimination at work, does not forbid voluntary affirmative action programs that aim to hire historically underrepresented minorities. In this particular case, the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) and Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation had a collective-bargaining agreement that required Kaiser to fill 50 percent of craftworker trainee positions with black workers until the proportion of black workers at Kaiser matched the local labor market, as mandated by the Title VII affirmative action provision. Previously, black workers had been excluded from craft unions, resulting in a lack of craftwork experience. Weber, a white worker with more seniority than many of the black workers selected for trainee positions, sued USWA and Kaiser for violating Title VII by discriminating against white workers. The Supreme Court determined that voluntary affirmative action hiring programs, aimed at increasing minority representation in industries that historically excluded them, do not violate Title VII. Although Title VII prohibits racial discrimination regardless of the race of the aggrieved person, the Court found that the legislative history of Title VII demonstrated a specific focus on ensuring job opportunities for black workers in industries from which they were historically excluded. Furthermore, Congress explicitly stated that Title VII does not require employers to adopt affirmative action plans, indicating that if they intended to prohibit the voluntary adoption of such plans, they would have done so explicitly in the legislation.

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This glossary post was last updated: 17th April 2024.