Shaw v. Delta Air Lines

463 U.S. 85 (1983)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
S
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Shaw v. Delta Air Lines

United States Supreme Court
463 U.S. 85 (1983)

  • Written by Alexander Hager-DeMyer, JD

Facts

The State of New York enacted the Human Rights Law and the Disability Benefits Law, both of which prohibited employee benefit plans from treating pregnancy differently from other nonoccupational disabilities or injuries. Under the laws, employers and plan administrators in the state were required to include pregnancy benefits in any employee benefit plan of general coverage. Delta Air Lines, Inc. and other airlines, Burroughs Corporation, and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (plaintiffs) provided their employees with medical and disability benefits through welfare plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). These companies filed suit in federal district court against the commissioner of the New York State Division of Human Rights and other government officials (defendants), alleging that the Human Rights Law and Disability Benefits Law were both preempted by ERISA. The district court found that the Human Rights Law was preempted but that the Disability Benefits Law was exempted. The case was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which affirmed as to the Human Rights Law and remanded the case as to the Disability Rights Law. The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Blackmun, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 812,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 812,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 812,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Employment Law

Key Terms