On April 30, 2025, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Feliciano v. Department of Transportation, one of the rare decisions issued by the Supreme Court concerning federal employee issues.
Many federal civil service employees also hold positions in the Reserves or the National Guard, under which the employees are called up from time to time for active military duty. Oftentimes, the employee’s civilian pay is higher than their military pay, and as a result taking leave from the civilian job for military service would in theory cause a pay reduction. To avoid this outcome, Congress passed a special statute (5 U.S.C. § 5538), which pays employees a pay differential for certain periods of active military duty, including call-ups related to “contingency operations,” defined to include service “during a war or during a national emergency declared by the President or Congress.” At issue before the Supreme Court was whether the call-up had to be for active duty service directly tied to the contingency operation, or whether more broadly any active duty service that happened to coincide with the contingency operation would entitle the employee to the pay differential. Given that—as noted in the opinion—some sort of declared emergency or another has been in place at any given time over the past few decades, the more expansive reading would mean that most covered employees would be entitled to the pay differential, irrespective of the nature of their assignments while on active duty.
In a 5-4 decision based on textual analysis of the relevant statutes, the Court held that the more expansive definition applies, meaning that any active duty service that happened to coincide with a contingency operation would give rise to the pay differential for covered civil service employees, and is not dependent on the specific military duty assignment for the covered employee.
If you are a federal civilian employee facing issues regarding your pay, and you wish to seek legal advice, consider contacting Gilbert Employment Law to request an initial consultation.