Would-Be Baristas Have to Disclose Background, and So Should US Scientists, SG Says
Supreme Court justices appeared ready to reject a claim by contract scientists working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory that a government background questionnaire violated their First Amendment right to informational privacy, according to news coverage of oral arguments on Tuesday.
The Washington Post summarized the arguments this way: “The Supreme Court seemed disinclined on Tuesday to impose strict limits on how the federal government can investigate the backgrounds of contractors seeking work, but the justices were more split over what a constitutional right to privacy protects.”
Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal argued that the government questions didn’t violate whatever right to informational privacy that may exist, the New York Times reports. He said government questions were no more prying than those posed to private job applicants. “That’s how baristas at Starbucks are hired,” Katyal said.
The questionnaire had included queries about drug treatment and counseling, and an open ended question about suitability for employment, the National Law Journal reports.
The NLJ and Post coverage included some of the justices’ hypotheticals. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wanted to know if the government can ask if a person has a specific genetic characteristic because it doesn’t want to hire someone who is prone to cancer. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. asked whether the government can ask about diet, smoking, hobbies or sexual practices, or whether an employee has a sign on his or her lawn saying, “I hope the space shuttle blows up.”
Justice Elena Kagan did not participate in the case.
