City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co.

City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co., 488 U.S. 469 (1989), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

Richmond, Virginia adopted a minority set-aside program requiring contractors to subcontract 30% of city contracts to minority-owned businesses. The program was based on a finding that less than 1% of city contracts went to minority firms despite a 50% Black population. J.A. Croson, a white-owned company that lost a contract, challenged the program as race discrimination.

Significance

Justice O’Connor’s 6-3 opinion applied strict scrutiny to state and local affirmative action programs. The Court held that Richmond’s program was not narrowly tailored — it was based on a generalized assertion of past discrimination rather than specific findings, and the 30% figure mirrored the Black population rather than the number of qualified minority contractors. Croson made it significantly harder for state and local governments to adopt race-conscious remedial programs.

Category

US Federal Case Law