A federal court just expanded disability rights for TSA screeners – HR teams must update compliance fast
A recent federal appeals court decision has put disability rights for TSA screeners front and center, changing the rules for HR leaders across government agencies.
On October 17, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a decision that could reshape how federal HR teams handle disability discrimination claims. The case involved Joseph Simone, a former Transportation Security Officer at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, who said he was fired because of a heart condition. Simone’s story is one that many HR professionals know all too well: an employee with a disclosed medical condition, cleared for work, who later faces questions about their fitness for duty.
Simone’s employment with the TSA began with full disclosure – he told the agency about his heart condition, and a TSA doctor gave him the green light. Over the years, Simone occasionally took short leaves under the Family and Medical Leave Act when his condition flared up, but he was otherwise able to do his job. Things changed in 2014, when TSA decided he was no longer medically qualified. He was put on administrative leave, and by early 2015, he was out of a job.
Simone didn’t take this lying down. He filed a lawsuit, arguing that TSA had discriminated against him because of his disability and hadn’t done enough to accommodate him. He also claimed the agency retaliated against him for...
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