The Supreme Court on Friday ruled against the government and in favor of a former Census Bureau employee, finding certain federal workers who appeal adverse actions on the basis of both civil service and antidiscrimination violations should file their cases in district court.
In a 7-2 opinion, the court ruled in Perry v. Merit Systems Protection Board that federal employees in such “mixed cases” should not have to file their appeals in two separate courts, as the government had argued. Federal employees generally appeal civil service cases to the MSPB and antidiscrimination cases to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If those cases continue to higher courts, they go on to federal appeals court and district court, respectively.
