In the case of Perry v. Merit Systems Protection Board, 2016, Anthony Perry, a Census Bureau employee appealed his termination to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). He alleged both discrimination and retaliation for whistleblowing. While this appeal was pending, he reached a settlement with the agency on his discrimination claim but not on his whistleblower claim. The MSPB then dismissed his case as moot due to the settlement agreement. Perry appealed this decision to Federal Circuit Court which ruled it lacked jurisdiction over mixed cases like Perry's that had been dismissed by MSPB based on procedural grounds rather than merits of claims involved. The Supreme Court reversed this decision in an opinion delivered by Justice Gorsuch stating that federal law requires all appeals from decisions made by MSPB in mixed cases be filed at district court level regardless if they were decided based on procedure or merit of underlying claims.

In the dissenting opinion for Perry v. Merit Systems Protection Board, Justice Gorsuch argued that the majority's decision to allow federal employees to bring claims of discrimination directly to district court, rather than first appealing through administrative channels, was a misinterpretation of the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA). He contended that this ruling would undermine the CSRA’s purpose: streamlining and standardizing procedures for resolving employment disputes in federal agencies. According to him, allowing direct appeals could lead to an increase in litigation and inconsistent rulings across different courts. Furthermore, he criticized his colleagues' reliance on legislative history as opposed to statutory text when interpreting laws.