MR. JUSTICE GOLDBERG delivered the opinion of the Court.
Petitioner, the prevailing party in Greene v. McElroy, 360 U.S. 474, comes to this Court for a second time. Prior to April 23, 1953, petitioner was employed by a private corporation producing mechanical and electrical parts for military agencies of the United States. On that date the corporation discharged him because of the revocation of his security clearance by the Department of the Navy. Following his challenge of this revocation, this Court held in 1959 in Greene v. McElroy, supra, that "in the absence of explicit authorization from either the President or Congress the respondents were not empowered to deprive petitioner of his job in a proceeding in which he was not afforded the safeguards of confrontation and cross-examination." Id., at 508. On remand the District Court, declaring that revocation of petitioner's security clearance was "not validly authorized," ordered that all rulings denying petitioner's security clearance be
In the interim between the security revocation and the District Court order, petitioner had found it necessary to take less remunerative nonsecurity employment.
I.
The facts comprising the background of the present action are fully set forth in Greene v. McElroy, supra, at 476-491, and need only brief restatement here. Petitioner, an aeronautical engineer, was serving as vice president and general manager of Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO), a private firm producing mechanical
On April 17, 1953, however, the Secretary of the Navy notified ERCO that petitioner's "continued access to Navy classified security information [was] inconsistent with the best interests of National Security."
Following issuance of this order, petitioner initiated the administrative and legal steps immediately leading to the present action. His current employment did not require and he did not seek an opportunity to obtain current access authorization for classified information; indeed, he plainly says that he does not now "need or want" such authorization. His sole objective is to obtain compensation for the governmental action held by this Court not to have been validly authorized. On December 28, 1959, he made a formal demand of the General Counsel of the Department of the Navy "for monetary restitution from the Department of the Navy and/or the Department of
The General Counsel of the Department of the Navy acknowledged the demand and requested that certain dates and financial data be supplied. A statement of petitioner's legal position respecting the applicability of the regulation was also requested. On April 20, 1960, he supplied the General Counsel of the Department of the Navy with the requested information and statement of legal position.
While petitioner's claim was thus being processed, the Secretary of Defense on July 28, 1960, issued a new Industrial Personnel Access Authorization Review Regulation, a regulation superseding in pertinent part the 1955 regulation under which petitioner had claimed compensation.
On January 4, 1961, petitioner was advised that his claim had been forwarded to the Director of the Office of Security Policy of the Department of Defense for final determination. Petitioner then, in a letter addressed to the Director, reiterated his claim and stated that he was entitled to restitution under the 1955 regulation. After further communication, the Director advised petitioner that the Department of Defense was prepared to consider his case under the newly issued 1960 regulation and "to take such action as may be necessary to reach a final determination as to whether it is in the national interest to grant him an authorization for access to classified information." On March 2, 1961, petitioner again submitted a statement of his legal position concerning the applicability of the 1955 regulation and again pointed out that he had no occasion to require and, therefore, was not seeking current security clearance. He expressly declined to request consideration of his case under the 1960 regulation. The Director responded by reemphasizing the Department's "willingness to process the question of Mr. Greene's current eligibility for access authorization under the provisions of the 1960 Review Regulation."
Finally, on June 1, 1961, nearly a year and a half after this Court's decision and petitioner's request for compensation, the Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Navy advised petitioner that "[i]n accordance with Department of Defense policy, it has been determined by the Department of Defense that Mr. Greene does not qualify for monetary restitution under the provisions" of
Petitioner then commenced the present action in the Court of Claims, alleging that he was entitled to monetary restitution "in an amount equal to the salary or pay which he would have earned at the rate he was receiving on the date of his suspension from employment by ERCO less his earnings from other employment." Petitioner based his claim on the 1955 regulation and the Just Compensation Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. The Government moved "to suspend proceedings in this case pending plaintiff's pursuit and completion of the administrative remedy available to him in the Department of Defense." Petitioner responded reasserting that the "July 28, 1960 Review Regulation has no application to [this] claim for monetary restitution . . ."; that his current employment did not require and that he did not seek or desire access authorization; and, therefore, that he was "not bound to exhaust any remedies under the July 28, 1960 Review Regulation before making such claim or bringing this suit." The Commissioner of the Court of Claims sustained the Government's position by ordering "further proceedings . . . suspended pending pursuit of administrative remedies [made available] by the Department of Defense."
II.
Petitioner contends that his right to monetary restitution must be determined under the 1955 regulation. This
The Government responds that the 1960, rather than the 1955, regulation applies and that, pursuant to the 1960 regulation, petitioner must establish as a condition of recovery that he now "would be" currently entitled to a security clearance. Alternatively,
Whatever petitioner's rights are, there can be no doubt they matured and were asserted under the 1955 directive. Not until six months after petitioner formally presented his claim to the Department of Defense did the Secretary of Defense issue a new, and substantially revised, regulation concerning "monetary restitution." Thus the Government's argument necessarily requires that the 1960 regulation be given retroactive application. As the Court said in Union Pac. R. Co. v. Laramie Stock Yards Co., 231 U.S. 190, 199, "the first rule of construction is that legislation must be considered as addressed to the future, not to the past . . . [and] a retrospective operation will not be given to a statute which interferes with antecedent rights . . . unless such be `the unequivocal and inflexible import of the terms, and the manifest intention of the legislature.' "
Our interpretation of the 1955 regulation makes it clear that petitioner has obtained the requisite final, favorable determination. In Greene v. McElroy, supra, this Court held that the Government had acted without authority in denying petitioner security clearance without providing the traditional safeguards of confrontation and cross-examination. On remand, and with the consent of the Government, the District Court entered the order voiding and expunging all determinations adverse to petitioner. As a result of the judicial action and in the absence of intervening administrative proceedings, the only legally
Furthermore, we read the applicable regulation as equitably designed
Having determined that petitioner was entitled to compensation under the 1955 regulation, we must consider whether it was proper, as the Government contends here and the Court of Claims held, to remit petitioner to further administrative proceedings under the 1960 regulation.
The Department of Defense, after considering petitioner's claim for nearly a year and a half following this Court's decision in Greene v. McElroy, supra, specifically determined that "Mr. Greene does not qualify for monetary restitution under the provisions" of the 1955 regulation. Petitioner's legitimate claim thus having been presented and rejected, there can be no doubt that he had exhausted the reasonable possibility of administrative proceedings under the applicable regulation. The Government argues in effect, however, that the claim could be administratively processed, and petitioner possibly could recover, under the 1960 regulation and that, by failing to resort to proceedings under the newly issued regulation,
The Department of Defense had clearly declared that in the course of applying the 1960 regulation, it would necessarily "process the question of Mr. Greene's current eligibility for access authorization . . . ." As we have indicated, however, petitioner, who had to find nonsecurity employment as a result of the 1953 clearance revocation, does not now require and is not seeking current access authorization. Therefore, an administrative review of his present eligibility is wholly irrelevant to a determination of his damages under the 1955 regulation. In view of the substantial differences between the two regulations and in view of the additional factual determinations that would be relevant under the 1960 regulation but irrelevant under the 1955 regulation, we conclude the 1960 regulation does not provide a reasonable basis for reviewing petitioner's rights under the 1955 regulation. We do not suggest that a claimant, seeking damages under a former regulation, need not resort to administrative proceedings under a new regulation where the new regulation contains essentially the same substantive requirements as its predecessor. Since in this case the only available administrative procedure entailed the burden of presenting the claim under an inapplicable and substantially revised
In summary, then, we hold that petitioner was entitled as a matter of right to compensation under the 1955 regulation
Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Claims is reversed and the case remanded to that court for a determination of the amount of restitution due petitioner.
Reversed and remanded.
MR. JUSTICE HARLAN, whom MR. JUSTICE WHITE joins, dissenting.
Once unraveled, this case presents a single simple issue, the answer to which is in my opinion very clear.
Whatever the Government's position earlier, it has now conceded that the petitioner's claim arises under and is to be settled in accordance with the 1955 regulation. In particular, the Government's brief states that "in light of the fact that petitioner's claim was initially filed under the 1955 regulation," the Department of Defense would
All that is left in this case, therefore, is a question concerning the proper construction of the 1955 regulation, which authorizes monetary restitution only "in cases where a final determination is favorable to a contractor employee . . . ." Department of Defense Directive 5220.6, 20 Fed. Reg. 1553, 1559. The Government's position is that the quoted language conditions restitution on "a restoration of eligibility for access to classified information." Combined with the disclaimer above, this evidently means that the Government does intend to insist that petitioner show his present eligibility for clearance but not that he show his eligibility at the time clearance was revoked. The petitioner contends that this Court's decision in 1959, 360 U.S. 474, invalidating the revocation of his clearance for procedural defects, constitutes the favorable "final determination" required under the 1955 regulation.
It is evident that most of the Court's opinion has nothing to do with this issue. There is no reason to consider whether the petitioner could properly be remitted "to further administrative proceedings under the 1960 regulation" (ante, p. 153), or whether the 1960 regulation provides "a reasonable basis for reviewing petitioner's rights under the 1955 regulation" (ante, p. 163). Nor is it necessary to consider what the Department of Defense would require were it applying the 1960 regulation. Finally, the propriety of requiring the petitioner to show his acceptability for clearance in 1953 is not in issue, since no one is seeking to impose that requirement.
On the relevant issue, both of the Court's distinct explanations for its conclusion are unsatisfying. The first explanation is that the order of the District Court which expunged all adverse determinations left the petitioner's
The other explanation offered by the Court is even less satisfactory. The fact that the petitioner is not interested in present clearance does not ipso facto make his present eligibility "wholly irrelevant to a determination of his damages under the 1955 regulation" (ante, p. 163). The question is what the 1955 regulation requires, and the petitioner's needs and desires have little relevance to that question, if indeed they have any relevance at all.
The nub of this case is that the 1955 regulation almost certainly was not framed with the present situation in mind. The difficulties of applying a regulation meant to apply to situations involving a limited number of procedural steps to an administrative action taken in 1953 which evoked an unfavorable judicial response in 1959 and has led to further administrative and judicial proceedings
The controlling point in the present posture of these proceedings is that the petitioner has not brought himself under the governing regulation as it is now construed by the department charged with its application. Well-accepted rules governing judicial review of administrative decisions require that the courts not intervene at this stage.
The Court's short-circuiting of controlling principles is needless and unwise. I would remit the petitioner to his administrative remedy.
FootNotes
"Upon the decision of the United States Supreme Court in this case (Greene v. McElroy, 360 U.S. 474) and the copy of the judgment and opinion of the Supreme Court heretofore filed with the clerk of this Court; and
"It appearing that counsel for the respective parties have consented hereto, it is hereby
"ORDERED that the action of the Secretary of Defense and his subordinates in finally revoking plaintiff's security clearance was and the same is hereby declared to be not validly authorized; and it is further
"ORDERED that any or all rulings, orders, or determinations wherein or whereby plaintiff's security clearance was revoked are hereby annulled and expunged from all records of the Government of the United States."
"We have no doubt that Greene has in fact been injured. He was forced out of a job that paid him $18,000 per year. He has since been reduced, so far as this record shows, to working as an architectural draftsman at a salary of some $4,400 per year. Further, as an aeronautical engineer of considerable experience he says (without real contradiction) that he is effectively barred from pursuit of many aspects of his profession, given the current dependence of most phases of the aircraft industry on Defense Department contracts not only for production but for research and development work as well. . . . Nor do we doubt that, following the Government's action, some stigma, in greater or less degree, has attached to Greene." 360 U.S. 474, 491, n. 21, quoting 103 U. S. App. D. C. 87, 95-96, 254 F.2d 944, 952-953.
"Monetary Restitution. In cases where a final determination is favorable to a contractor employee, the department whose activity originally forwarded the case to the Director will reimburse the contractor employee in an equitable amount for any loss of earnings during the interim resulting directly from a suspension of clearance. Such amount shall not exceed the difference between the amount the contractor employee would have earned at the rate he was receiving on the date of suspension and the amount of his interim net earnings. No contractor employee shall be compensated for any increase in his loss of earnings caused by his voluntary action in unduly delaying the processing of his case under this part."
"If an applicant suffers a loss of earnings resulting directly from a suspension, revocation, or denial of his access authorization, and at a later time a final administrative determination is made that the granting to him of an access authorization at least equivalent to that which was suspended, revoked or denied, would be clearly consistent with the national interest and it is determined by the board making a final favorable determination that the administrative determination which resulted in the loss of earnings was unjustified, reimbursement of such loss of earnings may be allowed in an amount which shall not exceed the difference between the amount the applicant would have earned at the rate he was receiving on the date of suspension, revocation, or denial of his access authorization and the amount of his interim net earnings."
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