Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/426/312/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 04:02:16+00:00

Document:
The National Guard Technicians Act of 1968 provides that a National Guard technician, who is a full-time civilian employee of the Guard, must be a member of the Guard. 32 U.S.C. § 709(b). Employment as a technician may be terminated upon separation from the Guard, § 709(e)(1); for failure to meet military security requirements, § 709(e)(2); or "for cause," § 709(e)(3).
Held: Where respondent's employment as a technician was terminated under § 709(e)(1) when he was separated from the Guard upon expiration of his enlistment, § 709(e)(3)'s requirement of "cause" has no application, and hence § 709(e)(3) cannot provide the foundation for a claim that the termination of respondent's employment and the allegedly arbitrary refusal to reenlist him violated due process. Pp. 426 U. S. 315-316.
with the Tennessee Air National Guard as violative of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Petitioners are the defendants below -- the State of Tennessee and its Governor, the Tennessee Air National Guard, and various officials of the Tennessee Air National Guard.
The National Guard Technicians Act of 1968 provides generally that a National Guard technician, who is a full-time civilian employee of the National Guard, must be a member of the National Guard, [Footnote 1] and that a technician who is separated from the Guard "shall be promptly separated from his technician employment." 32 U.S.C. §§ 709(b), (e)(1). The same section of the Act provides that "a technician may, at any time, be separated from his technician employment for cause." § 709(e)(3). O n December 8, 1972, respondent was discharged from the Tennessee Air National Guard for the stated reason that his term of enlistment had expired. Five days later, respondent was notified by his commander that his employment as a technician would be terminated in 30 days because he was no longer a member of the Guard.
"the unreviewable discretion of Guard officials to permit or refuse reenlistments must not extend to decisions which are made for the purpose of affecting a guardsman's technician employment."
514 F.2d 130, 133 (1975). In other words, the court held that, if a denial of reenlistment reflects no more than a desire to terminate employment as a technician, cause must be shown under § 709(e)(3). And, from this, the court concluded that there was a genuine issue as to whether respondent had a property interest in continued employment sufficient to support his due process contentions. We granted certiorari. 423 U.S. 821 (1975).
"who is separated from the National Guard or ceases to hold the military grade specified for his position . . . shall be promptly separated from his technician employment."
"who fails to meet . . . military security standards . . . may be separated from his employment as a technician and concurrently discharged from the National Guard."
The Secretary of the Army or the Air Force, in this case the Air Force, may, by regulation, exempt technicians from the requirement of membership in the Guard. 32 U.S.C. § 709(b). The Senate and House committee reports contemplated the exemption of about 5% of the technicians -- principally secretaries, clerk-typists, and security guards. H.R. Rep. No. 1823, 90th Cong., 2d Sess., 6 (1968); S.Rep. No. 1446, 90th Cong., 2d Sess., 5 (1968). Respondent has not been exempted from the requirement of Guard membership.
The complaint also included a general assertion of discrimination in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. Never adequately alleged, and not considered by the District Court or the Court of Appeals, this assertion is not before us.
Respondent asserts in his brief that he had a property interest in the form of a legitimate expectation of reenlistment and continued employment. See Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U. S. 593, 408 U. S. 599-603 (1972). This assertion was not pleaded in respondent's complaint, was not considered by the District Court or the Court of Appeals, and, accordingly, is not before us.

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