What happens when a retaliation claim runs into national security? HR needs to know
A federal employee's retaliation claim was shut down because it bumped up against a national security wall courts refuse to climb.
On April 23, 2026, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals handed down its decision affirming the dismissal of a Rehabilitation Act retaliation claim brought by a former USCIS employee. The ruling reinforces a hard truth for HR professionals in the federal space: when a security clearance is involved, anti-retaliation protections have a ceiling.
Dored Shiba's saga with the Department of Homeland Security stretches back to 2007, when he was hired as an Immigration Information Officer at the USCIS field office in Chicago. Within two months, he suffered a workplace injury that took him out of commission. Three years of unpaid medical leave later, the agency fired him. Shiba fought back through the Merit Systems Protection Board, which ordered the agency to reinstate him with accommodations. But his troubles were far from over.
While still on leave, Shiba was referred to the Office of Inspector General by a USCIS district director who accused him of accepting improper gratuities for representing refugees. A two-year investigation was unable to substantiate those allegations but turned up other problems: he had misrepresented his employment history on his application and had improperly used his federal position to contact the United Nations Refugee Agency about Iraqi...
Pakistani actress and model Ayesha Omar has strongly denied a controversial statement falsely attributed to her on social media. In recent days, a statement circulated online claiming that the act...