May 16, 02:07 PM

Supreme Court Unanimously Rules on Harrow v. Department of Defense and Smith v. Spizzirri

The U.S. Supreme Court issued two unanimous decisions on May 16, 2024. In Harrow v. Department of Defense, Justice Elena Kagan wrote the opinion stating that the deadline for appealing a ruling by the Merit Systems Protection Board is not jurisdictional. This decision allows a Pentagon employee to seek an exemption from a furlough despite missing a 60-day deadline. In Smith v. Spizzirri, Justice Sonia Sotomayor's opinion clarified that under the Federal Arbitration Act, federal courts do not have the discretion to dismiss a case when a party requests a stay pending arbitration. This ruling affects employment misclassification cases, ensuring that district courts must stay the proceedings rather than dismiss them.