Given the consequential nature of many of the issues decided by the Supreme Court this year, employers can be forgiven for overlooking the Supreme Court’s June 30 opinion in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, a 6-3 decision that significantly limited the broad power the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attempted to exercise. But the theory used by the Court to knock back the EPA – a relatively obscure concept called the “major questions doctrine” – may impact workplace law in ways many could not have anticipated as recently as half a year ago. Under this doctrine, an agency must point to clear congressional authorization before engaging in action that courts conclude has broad-reaching economic and political significance. While SCOTUS has already notified the federal workplace safety agency that this theory could curtail its actions, many Court observers are now expecting to see an impact on wage and hour, labor, pay equity, and employment law in general in the coming years. What do employers need to know about this potentially significant development?
What the Decision Means for Employers
Last week’s decision did not directly involve workplace law but its ramifications on the workplace could be significant. In West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, the Court concluded that the EPA could not implement and enforce its Clean Air Act regulations requiring power producers to shift energy generation from one energy sector (coal) to another...
The Justice Department announced Friday International Business Machines Corp. will pay more than $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated anti-discrimination requirements in its federal...