A recent Supreme Court ruling could lead to numerous pay claims for federal employees also serving as military reservists.
In April, the high court said federal civilian employees are entitled to their full salaries while on military leave during a national emergency, regardless of whether their duty is directly related to that emergency.
The court in a 5-4 ruling penned by Justice Neil Gorsuch rejected the government’s claim that military reservists are only entitled to a bump in pay when their duty is substantially connected to a specific emergency.
In Feliciano v. the Department of Transportation, the court revived claims by air traffic controller Nick Feliciano that the Federal Aviation Administration should have given him his full pay during a two-year period more than a decade ago when he was serving as a Coast Guard reservist.
Feliciano’s victory came after the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) rejected his claim for differential pay and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit also ruled against him. The appeals court said Feliciano “must show not only that he served while a national emergency was ongoing, but also that a substantive connection linked his service to a particular national emergency.”
The Supreme Court decision means federal employees who also serve as military reservists may have new claims on differential pay based on their past active duty service. MSPB handles any such claims.
“Differential pay is codified and provided for federal employees that are impacted and called to active duty,” said Michael Macomber, partner and CEO at law firm Tully Rinckey PLLC, Government Executive reported.
“What ultimately the Supreme Court found here, it is making it easier for reservists who are impacted who want to file claims to prove that they were, in fact, impacted.”
Macomber told the outlet that his firm had had received dozens if not hundreds of inquiries from federal employees about their eligibility for such claims. An MSPB spokesperson said the agency has not yet seen a noticeable uptick in claims following the Feliciano decision.
Last month, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority said Trump likely has the authority to fire independent agency board members, including Cathy Harris to the MSPB.
Still, an MSPB spokesperson told Government Executive that corrective action on differential pay claims would only be delayed “if the initial decision is appealed by either party” and that regional and field offices remain fully functional to handle such claims.
Reuters contributed to this story.
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