Court Opinion

ID: 9430931
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 23:30:55.515478+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:20:23.343470
License: Public Domain

Justice White,
with whom The Chief Justice and Justice Scalia join, concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I agree that the District Court erred in holding that a full trial-type hearing was necessary prior to termination, so long as the employer was afforded an adequate posttermination hearing at a meaningful time. I also agree that respondent Roadway Express, Inc., was entitled to notice of Jerry Hufstetler’s charges and an opportunity to respond to them prior to being ordered to temporarily reinstate him. But, with all respect, I disagree with the plurality’s conclusion that Roadway was denied due process when it did not have access to the information on which the reinstatement order was based, including the names of witnesses.
The procedures the Due Process Clause requires prior to administrative action such as was taken in this case can vary, *272depending upon the precise nature of the government function involved, the importance of the private interests that have been affected by governmental action, and the nature of subsequent proceedings. Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill, 470 U. S. 532, 545 (1985); Cafeteria Workers v. McElroy, 367 U. S. 886, 895 (1961). Thus, what may have been required in Loudermill or Arnett v. Kennedy, 416 U. S. 134, 170 (1974), is no sure guide to resolving the present case. The plurality ably articulates the Government’s purpose underlying §405: “Section 405 protects employee ‘whistle-blowers’ by forbidding discharge, discipline, or other forms of discrimination by the employer in response to an employee’s complaining about or refusing to operate motor vehicles that do not meet the applicable safety standards.” Ante, at 258. And the employee himself has substantial interest in not being terminated and in being paid his wages or the remuneration. On the other side of the scale is Roadway’s interest in not having an unsatisfactory employee on the job pending a full evidentiary hearing. That interest, however, is protected by requiring a reasonable cause finding by the Secretary prior to the issuance of his order, by notice of the charges, and by the opportunity for Roadway to present its side of the case. That is the balance struck by the statute, and the Secretary’s regulations and due process require no more, even though in most cases the Secretary may voluntarily reveal the evidence supporting the charge. Given the purpose of § 405, I would not ignore the strong interest the Government may have in particular cases in not turning over the supporting information, including the names of the employees who spoke to the Government and who corroborated Hufstetler’s claims, prior to conducting the full administrative hearing.
Because I believe that withholding the witnesses’ names and statements prior to ordering temporary reinstatement did not violate respondent’s due process rights, I find myself in partial dissent from the plurality’s opinion and judgment.