Federal courts should no longer defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of unclear statutory language, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 28, 2024, in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. In that case, a divided Court overturned the Chevron deference principle under which courts deferred to federal agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous statutes.
The Court said agencies do not have any special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities, whereas courts do. The Court said that the Chevron deference principle does not square with the Administrative Procedure Act, which charges courts with deciding “all relevant questions of law.”
The new standard will make it harder for agencies to adopt interpretations that push the boundaries of the statutes that they administer. The loss of Chevron deference may make it harder for the EEOC to proceed with a new compensation data collection tool. It also could affect litigation pending before the Fifth Circuit that challenges revisions to FLSA regulations related to tipped employees.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.