In the case of Glover et al. v. St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Co., 1968, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of a group of African American employees who alleged racial discrimination by their employer, St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company (Frisco). The plaintiffs claimed that Frisco's seniority system was discriminatory as it perpetuated past racially biased hiring practices and limited opportunities for black workers to transfer between jobs or departments within the company. The court held that such a seniority system violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

In the dissenting opinion for Glover et al. v. St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Co., Justice Harlan disagreed with the majority's interpretation of Section 3 First (i) of the Interstate Commerce Act, arguing that it did not provide a private right to sue for damages in cases where railroads charged unreasonable rates. He contended that this section was intended only to allow complaints about rate discrimination and unfair practices before the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). The ICC would then have discretion over whether or not to award reparations based on its findings, but no automatic entitlement existed for those who were overcharged by railroad companies. In his view, allowing such suits could potentially undermine regulatory authority and create an unmanageable flood of litigation against railroads.