Whether a 'contributing factor' in Section 42121(b) is one that 'alone or in connection with other factors, tends to affect in any way the outcome of the decision,' a definition eight circuits have adopted but the Second Circuit rejected?

Two Terms ago, in this very case, the Court unanimously held that the Second Circuit had erred in adding an atextual element to a whistleblower’s initial burden and remanded for further proceedings. Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC , 144 S. Ct. 445 (2024). Despite UBS’s urging, this Court did not resolve an important question: the meaning of the phrase “contributing factor” in 49 U.S.C. § 42121(b), the statutory provision whose two-part burden-shifting framework governs whistleblower protection claims across a variety of industries. Id. at 455 n.2. On remand, the Second Circuit squarely resolved the question by rejecting the definition that every other circuit to address the issue has adopted. The question presented is: Whether a “contributing factor” in Section 42121(b) is one that “alone or in connection with other factors, tends to affect in any way the outcome of the decision,” a definition eight circuits have adopted but the Second Circuit rejected?