Often called the fourth branch of government, administrative agencies implement the labyrinth of federal regulations governing people and companies in the United States. Administrative agencies play a particularly important role in regulating environmental, health, and safety in the United States. Those administrative agencies may soon face greater scrutiny from federal courts in their interpretation of their own regulations. This development could give businesses—particularly those in highly regulated industries—more opportunities to challenge, limit, or at least better anticipate their regulatory burden.
This term in Kisor v. Wilkie, the US Supreme Court will consider whether to overturn Auer deference; the rule that courts must defer to an agency’s construction of its own regulation unless that interpretation “is plainly erroneous or inconsistent with the regulation.” This development fits with the broader trend that we identified last year—the Court’s growing skepticism about deferring to legal determinations made by administrative agencies. Last year, we explained the Court’s hostility to Auer deference’s controversial cousin, the Chevron doctrine, which requires courts to defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of a statute. Continue Reading
We are pleased to share our latest edition of “frESH Law Horizons: Key Developments in UK & EU Environment, Safety and Health Law, Procedure and Policy”. In the January 2019 edition, we summarise 27 developments in the environmental, safety and health sector. Top stories this month include:
As a result of the recent lapse in appropriations, the US EPA and US Department of the Army (Army) 
The latest news and perspectives on California’s Proposition 65 (Prop 65) track the passage of the newly-amended Clear and Reasonable Warnings regulations under Prop 65, which took effect on August 30, 2018. Significantly, plaintiffs have started to target companies whom they believe to not be in compliance with the newly-amended regulations. Read more below about this and other important recent updates since the new Prop 65 regulations became effective, including the updated comment deadline of January 11, 2019, on proposed amendments:
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a proposed rule regarding existing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and tailpipe greenhouse gases (GHG) emission standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks on August 24, 2018. With this proposal, US EPA’s goal is to finalize a rule that would freeze standards rather than provide for increasingly stringent standards, which was the plan set by the previous rule under the Obama Administration. The proposed rule would also revoke California’s authority to set its own GHG emissions standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks more stringent than federal standards.
Effective October 1, 2018, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) updated its 
