Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory who sued to stop far-reaching background investigations introduced by NASA for its contractor employees, have lost their case at the US Supreme Court.

The Court ruled that the government’s inquiries were “reasonable” in light of its interests as an employer, and noted that civil service employees already have to undergo them. The case had focused on whether it was excessive for background investigators to send an employee’s references a questionnaire called Form 42 that asks for “any adverse information” that person may know about them. Those who sued now face the difficult decision of whether to submit to the checks or give up their jobs at the California Institute of Technology, which runs JPL under contract to NASA.

Interviewed in October for a story in Nature, the plaintiffs noted that losing the case wouldn’t necessarily mean that the checks would go ahead, as NASA still has discretion to decide whether to enforce them. But having won its case at the Supreme Court, it’s hard to see the space agency backing down.

Still, it’s arguable that the scientists have already won one important victory. During arguments in the case, government lawyers sought to distance themselves from a document placed online that laid out how information collected through the Form 42, and other information, might be used to assess suitability for employment. Among other things, the document suggested that a person’s sexual habits could be held as a reason not to allow them to work on a NASA contract, and prompted much of the outrage that led 28 employees to bring the lawsuit. But government lawyers ultimately disowned the document, claiming that it was erroneously posted and did not truly reflect NASA’s decision-making procedures.

Update: Robert Nelson, a planetary scientist at JPL and lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, comments that the ball is now in NASA’s court. “NASA has within its authority the power to request a limited set of information from employees that is narrowly tailored to meet NASA’s needs. If they develop such a plan none of the plaintiffs would have a problem with it. However, should NASA persist in undertaking a fishing expedition into the most intimate details of our private lives, there are long time NASA employees who would move out of the organization.”

Image: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / NASA