Labor Department Challenges Test Limits of West Virginia v. EPA

Employers and trade associations suing the Department of Labor are relying on a recent US Supreme Court ruling curbing agencies’ regulatory authority to make the case that the DOL overstepped its bounds in at least two lawsuits.

In West Virginia v. EPA, the justices affirmed that agencies cannot regulate “major questions” with significant economic or political implications unless Congress explicitly gives them the power to do so.

Although the case involved the Biden administration’s efforts to curb power plant emissions, the doctrine has since popped up in a pair of lawsuits filed against the DOL—one challenging a regulation ...