Decision on DHS Appeal Pending

September 25 is the deadline for the Bush administration to file an appeal at the Supreme Court in the lawsuit over revised personnel rules for many Department of Homeland Security employees, a decision that is being watched closely. A group of unions already has won decisions at both the district court level and the appeals court level holding parts of those rules invalid, involving union rights and adverse action rights and procedures. A decision by the administration to file a further appeal virtually would guarantee that the legal uncertainty involving the DHS rules will carry on for many more months. However, rewriting the rules to meet the appeals court’s strictures also could involve a long process. The DHS case also is being watched for its potential precedent for the Defense Department, where similar parts of similar rules also have been blocked by court order, a case that is still awaiting a hearing before the same appeals court that ruled against DHS.