On June 28, the U.S. Supreme Court historically overturned its 40-year-old decision to give deference to federal agencies when interpreting laws passed by Congress (called Chevron Deference). Under this deference, agencies had the ability to tell the courts how the laws should be interpreted in places where the statute was either silent or ambiguous, as long as the agency’s interpretation was a deemed a “permissible construction of the statute”. But the Court’s recent decision in Loper Bright threw out that deference. Instead, courts must return to using their own independent judgment and give equal treatment to the government and private citizens or businesses in a controversy.
When has an employment agency been given Chevron deference in the past? One example: DOL regulations that interpret exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act. But those days are long gone, and plaintiffs near and far are already citing to Loper Bright to support challenges to various government regulations. Within days of the Loper Bright decision, a federal judge had already cited it when granting an injunction preventing the DOL from enforcing one regulation in Texas.
Another example that is primed for the Loper Bright effect is the EEOC’s recent regulations interpreting the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”). Those regulations have been challenged in several states as going beyond the express delegation that Congress gave to it (and for other reasons). Previously, a court would likely have given Chevron deference to the EEOC’s interpretation of the PWFA as long as its regulations were a deemed a permissible construction of the PWFA. Now, without that deference, a court must use its own independent judgment to determine how to apply the PWFA on issues that the PWFA itself is silent or ambiguous.
Holly Griffin Goodman and I dive deeper into the impact that Loper Bright decision will have in the employment sphere in the latest Gunster On The Go podcast. We share insights and practical tips that will help employers in Florida anticipate some of the impacts of this decision. Please join me there!
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This publication is for general information only. It is not legal advice, and legal counsel should be contacted before any action is taken that might be influenced by this publication.
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