Labor Enforcers’ Policy Strategies Will Get Post-Chevron Rewrite

Federal agencies that enforce labor and employment laws will have to adjust their regulatory and litigation strategies following the US Supreme Court’s decision to gut a legal doctrine that directed courts to accept how agencies interpret unclear laws, attorneys said.

The high court Friday overturned a 1984 precedent, Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, that required judges to defer to agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous statutes. Instead, courts should use their own judgment when determining whether an agency has acted within its authority, the court said in the 6-3 ruling.

Attorneys predict that agencies like the Labor Department and ...