The U.S. government may require background checks of applicants and employees who work under government contracts, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The court turned back a challenge by 28 scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The laboratory is run by the California Institute of Technology under a contract with NASA.
When the government asked the scientists and engineers about past drug use and sent open-ended questions on a form given to their references, they went to court and persuaded the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the questions violated their constitutional right to “informational” privacy.
In an opinion by Justice Alito, the high court unanimously overturned the appeals court decision. The opinion said that, assuming that a right to informational privacy exists, quesions about drug use and treatment are pertinent, because the govenrment “seeks to separate out those illegal-drug users who are taking steps to address and overcome their problems.”
“Reasonable investigations of applicants and employees aid the government in ensuring the security of its facilities and in employing a competent, reliable workforce,” Alito wrote. It makes no difference whether the workers were employed by the government or were contract workers, Alito added, since the government’s interest as “proprietor” in managing its operations does not turn on such formalities.
Affirming that the government can also ask open-ended questions during reference checks, Alito noted that such questions are common in both private and public employment.
The case is NASA v. Nelson.
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