Whitman v. Department of Transportation

Background

Terry Whitman is an FAA employee who sued in federal court after he says the agency tested him in a nonrandom way, claiming constitutional violations and a federal aviation statute. He filed suit without first using grievance steps in his union contract. The district court and the Ninth Circuit held they could not hear the case because of the federal employee grievance rules adopted by the FAA.

Reasoning

The main question was whether the Civil Service Reform Act’s grievance system prevents federal courts from hearing Whitman’s claims, or whether the general federal-law jurisdiction statute lets courts hear such cases. The Court explained that the specific statute about grievance procedures does not itself create federal-court power, but that the general federal-question statute does give federal courts jurisdiction unless Congress clearly said otherwise. The Court noted that it must first determine how Whitman’s claims fit the statutory scheme (for example, whether they are a “prohibited personnel practice”), and that parties cannot concede away jurisdictional facts. Because the Ninth Circuit did not decide those threshold issues, the Supreme Court sent the case back for the appeals court to resolve them.

Real world impact

The decision does not resolve Whitman’s claims on the merits. Instead it vacates the appeals court judgment and sends the case back to decide whether grievance procedures, exhaustion, final agency action, or other technical limits prevent a federal lawsuit. Lower courts will now sort out these procedural and statutory questions before any final answer about the underlying testing claims is reached.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Alito took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.