Civil Service Reform Act

Kloeckner v. Solis

Issues

Can a federal district court hear an appeal of a decision by the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) if the MSPB decided on a procedural ground and the case was “mixed” and so involved both unlawful employment termination and discrimination claims?

 

In 2005, Carolyn M. Kloeckner (“Kloeckner”) left her job as a Senior Investigator for the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration in the St. Louis office. Soon after, she filed an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaint alleging sex and age discrimination and a hostile work environment. The DOL charged her with being “absent without leave” and fired her a year later. The dismissal, coupled with the discrimination complaint, result in what is known as a "mixed"  case,  and  is therefore  subject to certain forum restrictions.  After an unsuccessful outcome with her EEO complaint, Kloeckner appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) which dismissed her claims as untimely. Kloeckner tried to challenge this MSPB decision in federal district court, but the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court, holding that only federal circuit courts had jurisdiction over mixed cases that were dismissed on a procedural ground. The federal circuit courts disagree on this issue, and so the Supreme Court’s  decision in this case  will determine whether a federal district court or a federal appellate-level court can hear an appeal of an MSPB decision to dismiss a mixed claim for being untimely.

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is authorized to hear appeals by federal employees regarding certain adverse actions, such as dismissals. If in such an appeal the employee asserts that the challenged action was the result of unlawful discrimination, that claim is referred to as a "mixed case."

The Question Presented is:

If the MSPB decides a mixed case without determining the merits of the discrimination claim, is the court with jurisdiction over that claim the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or a district court?

In 2005, Carolyn M. Kloeckner (“Kloeckner”) stopped going to work as a Senior Investigator for the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration in the St. Louis office. Kloeckner v. Solis, 639 F.3d 834, 834 (8th Cir.

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Whitman v. Department of Transportation

Issues

Does the Civil Service Reform Act, which provides that that procedures established by collective bargaining agreements for redressing employment grievances serve as the "exclusive administrative procedures" available, preclude Federal employees from bringing actions in Federal court to redress grievances, even if the employee seeks equitable relief, such as an injunction against future drug tests, for claims that an employer violated an employee's constitutional rights?

 

Terry Whitman served as an air traffic controller with the Federal Aviation Administration for twenty years. Under FAA and Department of Transportation rules, Whitman and all other air traffic controllers were subject to random drug tests due to the "safety-sensitive functions" of their employment. From 1996 to 2002, Whitman was repeatedly subjected to such tests, even though the results were negative each time. He learned over the course of the years that he was required to take many more tests than his coworkers. Whitman felt that his employers were violating his constitutional right to privacy by using non-random searches, and Whitman wanted them to be stopped. He brought a suit in the Federal district court in Alaska seeking an injunction against further testing. The court dismissed his complaint, however, stating that under the Civil Service Reform Act, the Federal court had no power over his action, and that he had to use the proper administrative procedures under the Civil Service Reform Act to obtain the remedy he desired. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court. Now the Supreme Court must decide whether under the Civil Service Reform Act, Federal courts are precluded from hearing grievances for which the Act has already provided an administrative grievance procedure.

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

1.? Whether 5 U.S.C. ? 7121(a)'s provision that the negotiated grievance procedures of a federal collective bargaining agreement be "the exclusive administrative procedures" to resolve grievances precludes an employee from seeking direct judicial redress when he would otherwise have an independent basis for judicial review of his claims.

2.? Whether the Civil Service Reform Act, 5 U.S.C. ? 7101 et seq., precludes federal courts from granting equitable relief for constitutional claims brought by federal employees against their employer.

Petitioner Terry Whitman ("Whitman") was employed as an air traffic controller at the Federal Aviation Administration's ("FAA") Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center. Brief of the Petitioner at 8-9.

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