Buck Doe v. Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Labor (540 U.S. 614)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided February 24, 2004 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 540 U.S. 614 · 124 S. Ct. 1204
- Decided
- February 24, 2004
- Term
- October Term 2003
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Souter
- Issue area
- Privacy
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Souter delivered the opinion of the Court. The United States is subject to a cause of action for the benefit of at least some individuals adversely affected by a federal agency’s violation of the Privacy Act of 1974. The question before us is whether plaintiffs must prove some actual damages to qualify for a minimum statutory award of $1,000. We hold that they must. HH Petitioner Buck Doe filed for benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act, 83 Stat. 792, 30 U. S. C. § 901 et seq., with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, the division of the Department of Labor responsible for adjudicating it. The application form called for a Social Security number, which the agency then used to identify the applicant’s claim, as on documents like “multicaptioned” notices of hearing dates, sent to groups of claimants, their employers, and the lawyers involved in their cases. The Government concedes that following this practice led to disclosing Doe’s Social Security number beyond the limits set by the Privacy Act. See 5 U. S. C. § 552a(b). Doe joined with six other black lung claimants to sue the Department of Labor, alleging repeated violations of the Act and seeking certification of a class of “ ‘all claimants for Black Lung Benefits since the passage of the Privacy Act.’” Pet. for Cert. 6a. Early on, the United States stipulated to an order prohibiting future publication…
Excerpt of a 23,983-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.