Implications of Overruling Chevron for OSHA Enforcement Actions

This term, the Supreme Court is poised to decide whether to overturn entirely, or narrow, Chevron deference—that is, the principle that courts must defer to an agency's reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute. As with other administrative agencies, an overruling or narrowing of Chevron deference is likely to have significant implications for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). But those implications will be affected by the particular structure created by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), which divides authority between the Secretary of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.