Opinion ID: 197419
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Principles Affecting Review.

Text: 32 A reviewing court customarily defers to an agency's reasonable interpretation of a statute that it administers. See Chevron, 467 U.S. at 843-44 & n. 11, 104 S.Ct. at 2781-83 & n. 11; Strickland v. Commissioner, Me. Dep't of Human Servs., 96 F.3d 542, 547 (1st Cir.1996). The impetus for deference escalates when the agency interprets its own regulations. See Lyng v. Payne, 476 U.S. 926, 939, 106 S.Ct. 2333, 2341-42, 90 L.Ed.2d 921 (1986); Udall v. Tallman, 380 U.S. 1, 16, 85 S.Ct. 792, 801, 13 L.Ed.2d 616 (1965). In the final analysis, a reviewing court should respect an agency's interpretation of its own regulation as long as the interpretation meshes sensibly with the regulation's language and purpose. See Martin, 499 U.S. at 151, 111 S.Ct. at 1176. These principles apply to the regulations that the Secretary of Labor promulgated to implement the OSH Act. See id. at 152, 111 S.Ct. at 1176-77. 33 The OSH Act, see 29 U.S.C. § 660(a), incorporates the basic judicial review provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. Under those provisions, agency determinations should be upheld unless they are arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law. 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A) (1994). 34 The Commission's findings of fact are conclusive as long as they are supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole. 29 U.S.C. § 660(a). The Court delineated the contours of the substantial evidence standard nearly half a century ago in Universal Camera Corp. v. NLRB, 340 U.S. 474, 477, 491, 71 S.Ct. 456, 459, 466, 95 L.Ed. 456 (1951), and they are by now too familiar to warrant repetition. We mention specially, however, that the standard applies with undiminished force where, as here, an administrative body, like the Commission, does not itself hear witnesses but instead adopts an ALJ's findings of fact. See Truck Drivers & Helpers Union, Local No. 170 v. NLRB, 993 F.2d 990, 998-99 (1st Cir.1993). As a corollary to the standard, the hearing examiner's credibility determinations are entitled to great deference. See General Dynamics Corp. v. OSHRC, 599 F.2d 453, 463 (1st Cir.1979). 35