Arnett v. Kennedy

Arnett v. Kennedy, 416 U.S. 134 (1974), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court rejected a nonprobationary federal civil service employee's claim to a full hearing prior to dismissal. The governing federal law prescribed not only grounds for removal but also removal procedures. The employee could only be removed for "cause," but the procedures did not provide for an adversarial hearing.

Background

A federal civil service employee in the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), was fired pursuant to the Lloyd-La Follette Act (5 U.S.C. § 7501) after he was found to have recklessly made statements that an officer of the OEO had been involved in bribes. The employee was advised of his rights under regulations promulgated by the Civil Service Commission (Commission) and the OEO on how he could reply to the charges and appeal any subsequent dismissal to the Commission or OEO. Appellee filed suit upon the claim that the discharge procedures authorized by the Act had denied him and others due process of law. The lower court sided with the employee.

Opinion of the Court

The Supreme Court reversed in a plurality opinion. Six of the Justices found that the Lloyd-La Follette Act had created an expectancy of job retention requiring procedural protection under the Due Process Clause. Five of the Justices then concluded that the procedure given the plaintiff satisfied the requirements of Due Process. Furthermore, the Court concluded that post-termination procedures provided by the Commission and the OEO adequately protected appellee's liberty interest in not being wrongfully stigmatized by untrue administrative charges. Finally, the Court held the Lloyd-La Follette Act was not impermissibly vague or overbroad in its regulation of federal employee speech.^[1][2]

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