In the case of Boston Firefighters Union, Local 718 v. Boston Chapter, NAACP et al., in 1982, the U.S Supreme Court addressed a dispute over affirmative action policies within the city's fire department. The court was asked to decide whether a federal district court had been correct in ordering that one black and one Hispanic firefighter be promoted for every white firefighter who received promotion. This order was intended as a remedy for past racial discrimination within the department. However, it faced opposition from both sides: while some argued that it did not go far enough to rectify past wrongs; others claimed it amounted to reverse discrimination against whites. The Supreme Court ultimately upheld this policy by declining to review lower courts' decisions which supported such race-conscious remedies.

In the dissenting opinion for Boston Firefighters Union, Local 718 v. Boston Chapter, NAACP et al., Justice Thurgood Marshall argued that the majority's decision undermined Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and its goal to eliminate employment discrimination. He contended that by allowing a consent decree (an agreement or settlement) to be modified without considering whether there was ongoing racial discrimination in hiring practices, it would make it easier for employers to evade their obligations under anti-discrimination laws. Furthermore, he criticized the majority's interpretation of Rule 60(b)(5), arguing that they had misapplied this rule which allows courts to modify judgments when "it is no longer equitable" for them to have prospective application. According to him, this rule should not be used as an excuse for non-compliance with civil rights legislation but rather as a tool ensuring compliance with such laws.