American Federation of Government Employees Local 1 v. Stone

Plaintiffs-Appellants American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1 (“AFGE”) and John Gavello appeal the district court’s dismissal of their action against the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) in his official capacity. The district court held that Plaintiffs-Appellants were not entitled to judicial review of their claims that the TSA violated their First Amendment rights by disciplining and then discharging Gavello, a TSA security screener, for engaging in union activities. The district court also held that AFGE lacked standing.

We reverse. If Congress wishes to deny federal employees the ability to redress alleged constitutional violations, it must state its intention clearly. We conclude that the statutory scheme governing TSA security screeners does not express a clear intention on the part of Congress to preclude judicial review of screeners’ constitutional claims. The district court therefore has subject matter jurisdiction over Plaintiffs-Appellants’ action. We further conclude that AFGE has standing.

I. Background

For purposes of this decision, we accept all of the allegations in Plaintiffs-Appellants’ complaint as true. The…