Author: Jace Lington
-
U.S. Supreme Court rejects requests to pause ATF rule banning bump stocks
A new rule banning bump stocks will remain in force while critics challenge it in court. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected two requests to pause the ban while lower courts decide pending cases. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) bump stock rule went into effect on March 26. It requires owners of…
-
U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider judicial deference to agency interpretations of regulations
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether courts should still defer to agency interpretations of their own ambiguous regulations. Under Auer deference, courts uphold agency interpretations of ambiguous regulations unless they are plainly erroneous or inconsistent. Supporters of Auer deference see Kisor v. Wilkie as a threat to the foundation of American administrative law…
-
U.S. House passes the Federal Register Modernization Act
The U.S. House passed a bill that would change printing requirements for the Federal Register. The Federal Register is a legal newspaper published every federal business day by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Government Publishing Office (GPO). The Federal Register lists new administrative agency rules and regulations in addition to policy…
-
Judge restores Obama-era compensation reporting requirements blocked by Trump administration
D.C. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan set aside a decision to delay and review an Obama-era requirement that employers submit pay data along with other employee information. Her March 4 decision held that the Trump administration’s delay was illegal because it violated the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Since 1966, the…
-
Justice Gorsuch pens anti-Chevron dissent in workers’ compensation case
The Chevron doctrine may be dying according to Justice Neil Gorsuch’s dissent in BNSF Railway Co. v. Loos. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 7-2 majority upheld an IRS interpretation of law but ignored Chevron. The Chevron doctrine requires judicial deference to reasonable agency interpretations of unclear laws. That means judges uphold agency decisions even when…
-
States sue Trump administration over new abortion rules
State attorneys general from 21 states joined together to sue the Trump administration over a new rule that increased restrictions on Title X family planning program funds. The final rule, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), prohibits using Title X funds to perform, promote, or refer for abortion as a family…
-
CRA resolution would require businesses to send OSHA detailed reports of worker injuries
Employers will again have to disclose detailed worker injury data to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) if Congress approves a new resolution. The resolution was introduced in early February according to the Congressional Review Act (CRA). It would undo a new OSHA rule that exempts large employers from having to submit detailed reports…
-
Department of Justice asked U.S. Supreme Court to narrow Auer deference
The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the U.S. Supreme Court to limit, but not throw out, Auer deference in its legal brief for the upcoming case Kisor v. Wilkie. Auer deference, also called Seminole Rock deference, requires federal courts to yield to agency interpretations of ambiguous regulations made by the same agency unless the interpretation…
-
New rule blocks certain people from receiving benefits on others’ behalf
A new rule will use background checks to ensure that people convicted of certain crimes cannot receive benefits from Social Security on behalf of impaired beneficiaries. The final rule published on February 15, 2019, by the Social Security Administration (SSA) implements requirements outlined in a 2018 law. Under the law, and the new rule,…
-
U.S. Supreme Court waits to act on DACA cases
The U.S. Supreme court has not acted on three cases challenging a decision made by the Trump administration to end an Obama-era program that postponed deportation for children who entered the United States unlawfully. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acted to wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2017 and…