Case Info: Feliciano v. Department of Transportation | Date Decided: 4/30/25 | Case No. 23-861

Link to Docket: Here.

Question Presented: Whether a federal civilian employee called or ordered to active duty under a provision of law during a national emergency is entitled to differential pay even if the duty is not directly connected to the national emergency.

Holding: 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 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.

Result: Reversed and remanded.

Voting Breakdown: Justice Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Sotomayor, Kavanaugh and Barrett joined.  Justice Thomas filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Alito, Kagan and Jackson joined.

Link to Opinion: Here.

Oral Advocates:

• For Petitioner: Andrew T. Tutt
• For Respondent: Nicole F. Reaves, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice

Website Link to Oral Argument: Here.

Apple Podcast Link to Oral Argument: Here.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:15 Question Presented

00:23 Voting Breakdown

00:40 Justice Gorsuch Majority Opinion

08:10 Result

08:11 Justice Thomas Dissenting Opinion

14:41 Case Implications