--- title: "Supreme Court Addresses How Agencies Interpret Their Own Regulations" description: "" url: "https://wimlaw.com/publications/newsletters/august-2019/supreme-court-addresses-how-agencies-interpret-their-own-regulations" date: "2026-06-10T21:29:49+00:00" language: "en-US" --- # Supreme Court Addresses How Agencies Interpret Their Own Regulations Written on April 01, 2020. *Tag(s):* [The Chevron Doctrine](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_tags&view=tag&id%5B0%5D=155:the-chevron-doctrine) Many businesses have complained about federal agencies having too much power to interpret the laws they enforce. For example, rather than amending the law or following the process to issue a new or revised regulation, agencies often issue fact sheets, operations handbooks, court briefs, and other statements and they ask the courts to follow the agencies' interpretations. In a case called *Auer v. Robbins* in 1997, the Supreme Court had ruled that lower courts must defer to federal agencies' interpretations of their own rules. The 1997 ruling was written by Justice Scalia, a staunch conservative, who later came to consider his opinion a mistake. Since then, many thought that the *Auer* precedent would be overturned, but surprisingly it has survived, although in a weakened state, in a decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2019 in *Kisor v. Wilkie*. The majority 5-4 opinion indicates that an *Auer* deference should apply only when a regulation is "genuinely ambiguous," when an agency's interpretation is reasonable and when its approach stems from its "substantive expertise" and "fair and considerate judgment." The Court says that deference is "rarely" warranted when an agency has changed its interpretation. The ruling will affect federal labor and employment agencies including the Labor Department, OSHA and the EEOC. Their regulations are commonly involved in cases where their interpretations of regulations are major issues. The bottom line is that the courts will be less willing in the future to defer to an agency's interpretations of its own regulations, and instead more inclined to interpret the regulation itself. It should be noted that there is another type of deference, cited in the famous case of *Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council* in 1984, in which courts are supposed to defer to an agency's interpretation of a statute which is ambiguous. Chief Justice Roberts, who concurred with the more liberal members in *Kisor*, remarked that he does not see the *Kisor* decision as relating to the *Chevron* deference given to a statute, as opposed to an agency's interpretation of a regulation. - [](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimlaw.com%2Fpublications%2Fnewsletters%2Faugust-2019%2Fsupreme-court-addresses-how-agencies-interpret-their-own-regulations.md&text=) - [](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwimlaw.com%2Fpublications%2Fnewsletters%2Faugust-2019%2Fsupreme-court-addresses-how-agencies-interpret-their-own-regulations.md) - [](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimlaw.com%2Fpublications%2Fnewsletters%2Faugust-2019%2Fsupreme-court-addresses-how-agencies-interpret-their-own-regulations.md) - [](mailto:?subject=Supreme%20Court%20Addresses%20How%20Agencies%20Interpret%20Their%20Own%20Regulations) ## Related Content [ ![dc](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/cf/march-2026-webinar-cf9643db.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1562:reining-state-scotus-employers&catid=221) ### [Reining In the Administrative State: What the Supreme Court Has Been Up To, and Why it Matters for Employers](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1562:reining-state-scotus-employers&catid=221) [Webinars: Employment Law "Hot Topics"](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=221) [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1562:reining-state-scotus-employers&catid=221) [ ![chevron gas station](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/c3/luis-ramirez-SopKKZs_gLw-unsplash-c3acf645.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1416:effect-scotus-chevron-deferring-interpretation&catid=53) ### [What Is the Practical Effect of the Supreme Court Overruling Chevron Doctrine Deferring to Agency Interpretations?](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1416:effect-scotus-chevron-deferring-interpretation&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1416:effect-scotus-chevron-deferring-interpretation&catid=53) [ ![an hourglass sitting on rocks outside](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/96/aron-visuals-BXOXnQ26B7o-unsplash-964c6349.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1408:scotus-death-deference-chevron-doctrine&catid=52) ### [The Death of Deference: Supreme Court Overrules the Chevron Doctrine](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1408:scotus-death-deference-chevron-doctrine&catid=52) [Alerts](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=52) [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1408:scotus-death-deference-chevron-doctrine&catid=52) ## Get Email Updates Receive newsletters and alerts directly in your email inbox. 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