Feliciano v. Department Of Transportation
View Official PDFBelow are plain-language sections to help you understand what the Court decided in Feliciano v. Department Of Transportation and why it matters. Quotes are taken from the syllabus (the Court’s short summary at the start of the opinion).
Summary
A short, plain-English overview of Feliciano v. Department Of Transportation.
In Feliciano v. Department of Transportation, the Supreme Court addressed whether federal civilian employees who are military reservists are entitled to differential pay when called to active duty during a national emergency. The petitioner, Nick Feliciano, argued that he was entitled to such pay under federal statutes, despite not having a substantive connection to a specific national emergency. The Court reversed the Federal Circuit's decision, which required a substantive connection, and remanded the case.
Holding
The single most important “bottom line” of what the Court decided in Feliciano v. Department Of Transportation.
The Court held that federal civilian employees called to active duty during a national emergency are entitled to differential pay without needing to show a substantive connection to the emergency.
Constitutional Concepts
These are the Constitution-related themes that appear in Feliciano v. Department Of Transportation. Click a concept to see other cases that involve the same idea.
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Why Due Process is relevant to Feliciano v. Department Of Transportation
The case involves interpreting statutory language to determine entitlements, which relates to procedural due process rights of federal employees.
Syllabus excerpt (verbatim)A federal civilian employee called to active duty pursuant to 'any other provision of law . . . during a national emergency' as described in § 101(a)(13)(B) is entitled to differential pay.
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Why Federalism is relevant to Feliciano v. Department Of Transportation
The case involves federal statutes and the interpretation of federal employee rights, which touches upon the division of powers between federal and state governments.
Syllabus excerpt (verbatim)Congress adopted a 'differential pay' statute requiring the government to make up the difference between a federal civilian employee's military and civilian pay.
Key Quotes
Short excerpts from the syllabus in Feliciano v. Department Of Transportation that support the summary and concepts above.
A federal civilian employee called to active duty pursuant to 'any other provision of law ... during a national emergency' is entitled to differential pay if the reservist's service temporally coincides with a declared national emergency without any showing that the service bears a substantive connection to a particular emergency.
The word 'during' normally 'denotes a temporal link' and means 'contemporaneous with.'
Contextual clues strengthen this conclusion.