SmartBrief
Confirm favorite deletion?
Civil rights Keyed to Jeffries, 5th Ed.
International Union, UAW v. Johnson Controls, Inc.
Citation:
499 U.S. 187 (1991)Facts
Johnson Controls manufactured batteries with lead as a primary ingredient, which posed health risks to fetuses carried by female employees. Before 1977, the company did not employ women in battery manufacturing jobs. In 1977, it adopted a policy warning women about lead exposure risks but allowing them to make their own decisions. In 1982, after eight employees became pregnant while maintaining elevated blood lead levels, Johnson Controls shifted to an exclusionary policy barring all women “capable of bearing children” (defined as all women except those with medical documentation of inability to bear children) from jobs involving lead exposure. The policy applied regardless of a woman’s age or intention to become pregnant, and also prevented women from positions that might lead to promotion into lead-exposure jobs. Several employees and their union filed a class action challenging this policy as sex discrimination under Title VII. The case reached the Supreme Court after lower courts upheld the policy under business necessity and BFOQ defenses.
Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
Access the most important case brief elements for optimal case understanding.
*Case Brief Anatomy includes: Brief Prologue, Complete Case Brief, Brief Epilogue
- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
Topic:
Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.Parties:
Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.Procedural Posture & History:
Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.:
A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.Case Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises:
Identifies and Defines Legal Authority used in this case.
- The Case Brief is the complete case summarized and authored in the traditional Law School I.R.A.C. format. The Pro case brief includes:
Brief Facts:
A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.Rule of Law:
Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.Facts:
What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case.Issue(s):
Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.Holding:
Shares the Court's answer to the legal questions raised in the issue.Concurring / Dissenting Opinions:
Includes valuable concurring or dissenting opinions and their key points.Reasoning and Analysis:
Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
- The Brief Prologue closes the case brief with important forward-looking discussion and includes:
Policy:
Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.Court Direction:
Shares where the Court went from here for this case.