U.S. Supreme Court to Decide to Which Extent Agencies Can Interpret Their Own Regulations

Any lawyer or law student can recite the familiar test of Chevron deference: If a statute is ambiguous – that is, if Congress’ intent is not clear or if the statute is silent on a topic – federal courts will defer to an agency’s regulations interpreting that statute. But a lesser-known doctrine extends Chevron to the next level, generally requiring courts to defer to that agency’s interpretation of its own regulation. Known as Auer or Seminole Rock deference, this principle’s modern grounding comes from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion in Auer v. Robbins, 519 U.S. 452 (1997).