JPL case to high court

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear arguments in a case involving employee background checks at Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Supreme Court justices will review an injunction issued by the 9th Circuit Court in January 2008 barring NASA/JPL from requiring “low-risk” employees — those who do not handle classified material — to submit to extensive background investigations.

U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan argued that the injunction would have broad implications for how the federal government vets its employees.

“The decision prevents the routine background checks of many government contract employees, and it casts a constitutional cloud over the background-check process the government has used for federal civil service employees for over 50 years,” Kagan said in court documents.

The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case was a setback for JPL employees who have spent more than two years fighting what they describe as invasive procedures.

Virginia Keeny, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said she was surprised the court felt it necessary to review the injunction.

“It was a fairly limited decision, restricted really to JPL employees and fully in line with prior decisions for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,” Keeny said. “We look forward to the opportunity to be heard at the Supreme Court on these important issues.”

At the heart of the case is the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, issued in 2007 by President George W. Bush and outlined new standards for employees with access to federally controlled facilities and networks.

In accordance with the new guidelines, JPL required contract employees to sign a waiver authorizing investigators unrestricted access to personal information, including financial and health records.

Those who refused to comply were told they would be fired.

A group of 28 senior engineers and scientists filed suit against the federal government in August 2007 challenging the constitutionality of the breadth of investigations. All 28 plaintiffs, like 97% of JPL employees, are categorized as low-risk.

Since then, 318 employees have signed a statement indicating they signed the waiver under duress.

Americans have legal protection from government intrusion, plaintiff Robert Nelson said.

“The issue here is not a background check,” Nelson said. “The issue is an unlimited background check into anything that is on the investigator’s mind.”

It is appropriate for JPL to verify academic degrees and check for criminal offenses, he said, but not to review personal information.

On Jan. 11, the 9th Circuit Court granted an injunction on the new policies, ruling that the background checks violated employees’ privacy. Six months later, the court upheld the injunction and refused a rehearing petition.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in the next court session, and issue a decision in spring 2011.