Respondent South Carolina Public Railways Commission, a state agency that is a common carrier engaged in interstate commerce by railroad, was sued in state court under the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) by its employee, petitioner Hilton, who alleged that he was injured in the course of his employment as a result of the Commissions negligence. In dismissing the complaint on the ground that FELA does not authorize a damages action against a state agency, even if suit is maintained in a state forum, the trial court acknowledged that, in Parden v. Terminal Railway of Alabama Docks Dept., 377 U.S. 184, this Court interpreted FELA to permit such actions, but held that, in effect, Parden had been overruled by subsequent decisions of the Court. The South Carolina Supreme Court affirmed.

Held:

FELA creates a cause of action against a state-owned railroad, enforceable in state court. Pp. 201-207.

(a) Absent sufficient, countervailing justifications for departing from precedent, the strong considerations favoring adherence to stare decicis