Opinion ID: 3009316
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: introduction

Text: The majority correctly notes that the Secretary’s deviation from a longstanding interpretation of a regulation can be a factor in assessing the reasonableness of a new interpretation. This factor appears to enjoy the support of two rationales. First, notice concerns arise if the regulated entity is unaware of the interpretation prior to taking action (notice concerns). And second, it is possible that through the -13- pronouncement of a new interpretation in an administrative adjudication, the Secretary’s delegatees may be skirting normal agency process and advancing an interpretation that reflects an ad hoc rationalization for an action or more simply does not reflect the Secretary’s reasoned and considered judgment (agency-process concerns). It does not follow, however, that we must address notice concerns through a wholesale rejection of the Secretary’s new interpretation. Rather, the Secretary’s interpretation may stand, and notice concerns may affect the penalty, if any, to be imposed. It also does not follow that a court should reject the new interpretation as failing to honor agency process when an administrative adjudication is a permissible vehicle for articulating an interpretation, the interpretation is consistent with the text of the regulation, and the Secretary’s past interpretation is not an expressly announced position, but rather a pattern of agency inaction. The question at the heart of this appeal is whether our court should exercise restraint and defer to the evolving views of the Secretary in this matter. The majority appears to at least partially share the view that the Secretary possesses expertise in workplace safety matters and . . . need[s] flexibility in construing ambiguous regulations. The majority, however, goes to great lengths in an attempt to make the Secretary’s clear and textually supported interpretation of the regulation appear unreasonable in order to justify a refusal to extend deference. In doing so, the majority relies heavily on materials outside the regulation—materials which may be evidence of inconsistent interpretations but which do not disprove the simple fact that the Secretary’s interpretation is a straightforward and clear reading of the regulation. Ultimately, I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that its interpretation, rather than the Secretary’s interpretation, is more reasonable. I also believe that, because the Secretary’s interpretation enjoys substantial textual support, we should grant the agency the substantial deference it is owed in interpreting its own regulation. See Auer v. Robbins, 519 U.S. 452, 461 (1997) (holding that the Secretary’s -14- interpretation of its “own regulations . . . is . . . controlling unless ‘plainly erroneous or inconsistent with the regulation’”) (quoting Bowles v. Seminole Rock & Sand Co., 325 U.S. 410, 414 (1945)) (additional citation omitted). Any notice concerns should be dealt with in terms of the penalty, if any, to be imposed and not a wholesale rejection of the Secretary’s interpretation.