Steve A. Filarsky, Petitioner v. Nicholas B. Delia. (566 U.S. 377)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 17, 2012 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 566 U.S. 377 · 132 S. Ct. 1657
- Decided
- April 17, 2012
- Term
- October Term 2011
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Roberts
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court. Section 1983 provides a cause of action against state actors who violate an individual’s rights under federal law. 42 U. S. C. § 1983. At common law, those who carried out the work of government enjoyed various protections from liability when doing so, in order to allow them to serve the government without undue fear of personal exposure. Our decisions have looked to these common law protections in affording either absolute or qualified immunity to individuals sued under § 1983. The question in this case is whether an individual hired by the government to do its work is prohibited from seeking such immunity, solely because he works for the government on something other than a permanent or full-time basis. I A Nicholas Delia, a firefighter employed by the city of Rialto, California (or City), became ill while responding to a toxic spill in August 2006. Under a doctor’s orders, Delia missed three weeks of work. The City became suspicious of Delia’s extended absence, and hired a private investigation firm to conduct surveillance on him. The private investigators observed Delia purchasing building supplies — including several rolls of fiberglass insulation — from a home improvement store. The City surmised that Delia was missing work to do construction on his home rather than because of illness, and it initiated a formal…
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