Arnold & Porter Secures Landmark Supreme Court Victory on Differential Pay for Military Reservists During National Emergencies

Arnold & Porter was named to Law360’s list of “Legal Lions Of The Week” for achieving a substantial Supreme Court victory on behalf of military reservists in Feliciano v. Department of Transportation, in which the Court ruled that federal civilian employees on active-duty orders during a national emergency are entitled to differential pay, which compensates for the difference between their military and civilian salaries.

The Court revived claims by a U.S. Coast Guard reservist, who was denied differential pay for 14 months of voluntary service at the end of an active-duty stint between 2012 and 2017, escorting military vessels to and from safe harbor. The reservist appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which upheld the denial of differential pay, citing its precedent that requires a substantive connection between the reservist’s service and a national emergency. Through the efforts of the Arnold & Porter pro bono team, the Court issued a 5-4 decision reversing the Federal Circuit’s precedent holding that military reservists are entitled to a pay increase only when their duty is directly connected to a specific emergency. The Court’s decision ensures that reservists serving during declared national emergencies are eligible for differential pay without the need to demonstrate a direct link to any particular emergency, thereby providing clarity and uniformity to the law’s application.

The Arnold & Porter pro bono team was led by head of the firm’s Appellate & Supreme Court practice John Elwood and counsel Andrew Tutt and included associates Ryan Fenn, Max Gould, Ally Myers, and Daniel Yablon.

The case was featured in the Reuters article, “US Supreme Court says federal workers on military leave owed full salary.”