Posts tagged Chevron Doctrine
Supreme Court Declines to Revisit NLRB Deference Post-Loper Bright
March 28, 2025 // In declining to review the underlying Ninth Circuit decision issued on February 20, 2024, the Supreme Court let stand the court’s ruling that upheld the NLRB’s finding that an employer cannot unilaterally cease union dues checkoff after a collective bargaining agreement expires (discussed here). The Ninth Circuit’s decision was predicated on the Chevron standard, which requires deference to the Board’s interpretation of an ambiguous provision of the NLRA – like dues checkoff – if the Board’s interpretation “is rational and consistent with the Act.” The Supreme Court gave no rationale for declining review. Interestingly, this denial of certiorari stands in stark contrast to the Supreme Court’s decision in December 2024 to vacate and remand a D.C. Circuit opinion that upheld a Board ruling on the successor-bar doctrine, where the high court gave specific instructions to review that ruling “for further consideration in light of” Loper Bright, which we covered here.
Commentary: Pushing Back on Deference
June 20, 2024 // Limiting Chevron may also enhance regulatory certainty. Currently, an agency’s reasonable interpretation of a statute can shift from one administration to another. Requiring Congress to be more explicit and shifting statutory interpretation from agencies back to the courts will alleviate that uncertainty. Reversing or modifying Chevron will be key to restraining the ever-expanding administrative state. Even in health care, regulatory priorities should be set by Congress, not bureaucrats. And courts, not agencies, should be the ultimate interpreters of statutes.
Appeals court upholds NLRB’s ‘successor bar’ rule
March 5, 2024 // The NLRB previously ruled that Hospital Menonita de Guayama violated the National Labor Relations Act by failing to recognize and bargain with the union of a hospital it acquired in 2017. The hospital challenged the ruling, claiming the union had lost majority status and that NLRB had vacillated in its stance on the successor bar rule over the years. The NLRB and the hospital’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Impacts of Chevron Deference on Labor and Industry
February 7, 2024 // The Amicus brief alleges that the Chevron doctrine has enabled the NLRB’s “unworkable track record of frequent flip-flopping,” due in part to a consistently changing Board. According to the filing by CDW, “the Board’s membership is subject to frequent and continued change, and whenever a new Board majority disagrees with a prior precedent, it often overrules that precedent.” Additionally, “it is customary (though not mandated by statute) that no more than three of the five members will belong to the President’s political party.” This means each President can guarantee a majority of the Board will share his ideological priorities. The CDW argues this has created instability as rules are constantly changing with each new Board.