Bush v. Lucas
Citation and Court
462 U.S. 367 (1983) — Supreme Court of the United States
Facts
Frederick Lucas, a NASA employee, was demoted after making public statements critical of his agency. He filed a grievance through the Civil Service Commission’s elaborate administrative system and was eventually reinstated with back pay, but sought additional damages by way of a Bivens-style First Amendment claim directly against his supervisor, Bush.
Issue
Whether a federal employee may bring a Bivens damages action for a First Amendment retaliation claim when a comprehensive federal remedial scheme already exists for that wrong.
Holding
No. Congress’s comprehensive civil service remedial scheme, even if it does not provide complete relief, forecloses an additional Bivens remedy for a federal employee’s First Amendment retaliation claim.
Rule / Doctrine
Where Congress has created a comprehensive remedial scheme addressing the same constitutional wrong, courts will not fashion an additional Bivens remedy. The existence of an elaborate statutory framework, even one that does not provide complete relief, is a “special factor counseling hesitation” that defeats the Bivens claim.
Significance
Bush v. Lucas is the leading case limiting Bivens in the federal employment context. It establishes that courts defer to Congress when it has already designed a remedial apparatus, even an imperfect one, and marks a significant step in the Supreme Court’s progressive narrowing of Bivens after Carlson v. Green (1980).