I. Was the Save Our Oceans Act a constitutional delegation of authority to the EPA?
For a delegation of power to an administrative agency to be constitutional, Congress must provide three things: First, Congress must explain the general policy it wants furthered. Second, Congress must identify the public agency which is to apply this policy. Third, Congress must set the boundaries for the agency. American Power & Light Co. v. SEC, 329 U.S. 90, 105 (1946).
The general policy in the Save Our Oceans Act was to protect the nation’s oceans from catastrophic oil spills. Congress identified the EPA as the public agency in charge of furthering this policy. Then, Congress set boundaries for the EPA by making the Act applicable to all oil companies
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This guideline was not interpretive.
In Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. OSHA, 636 F.2d 464 (1980), an administrative agency announced a rule it called interpretive but was actually substantive. In that case, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, without following notice and comment procedures, declared an employer’s refusal to compensate employees for time spent accompanying OSHA officials during a walk around inspection per se discrimination under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. OSHA characterized this action as an interpretive rule and claimed it exempt from notice and comment under §553(b)(3)(A) of the APA.
However, when examining the substance of walk around pay rule, the court found it was not an interpretive rule at all. An interpretive rule explains the meaning of an existing law by clarifying its language and reminding the affected parties of their pre-existing duties. 636 F.2d 464, 469 (1980). In the OSHA case, Congress had not declared a policy regarding walk around pay. So the agency could not have been interpreting an existing statute. Moreover, the walk around pay rule changed the duties of employers. In the past, OSHA had said a failure to provide walk around pay was not per se discrimination. Because OSHA was trying to create a substantive rule without following rulemaking procedures, the court decided to vacate the walk around pay
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V. Did the EPA violate §553(c) of the APA by failing to include a general statement of the basis and purpose with the adopted tax rule?
Yes. Section 553(c) of the APA requires an administrative agency to give the public an opportunity to submit written arguments for and against a proposed rule. Then, the agency must consider all relevant material. Finally, when adopting the final rule, the agency must provide “a concise general statement of [the rule’s] basis and purpose.” 5 U.S.C. §553(c).
A concise general statement of basis and purpose is important so that the public may know what major issues were contemplated by the agency and why the agency chose to take a certain course of action instead of others. United States v. Nova Scotia Food Products Corp., 568 F.2d 240, 252
...g went to the fact that even though the business did not purposely discriminate, it did in fact due to a policy that is discriminatory in nature. In other words, the true reason for the firing was directly related to substance abuse. Although the employee was technically not let go due to the abuse specifically, the fact that this occurred in fact is enough to render the policy unfair. I feel that this law provides great value to my workplace as, it protects those who have made mistakes at the workplace due to a disability. In this case it was substance abuse, but the same concept could be applied to other conditions that alter behavior.
...g. It also introduces the reader to the APA (Administrative Procedure Act), obviously one of the most important aspects of current Administrative Law.
As ordered by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, Congress was given the power to “exercise continuous watchfulness” over the executive branch and its subsidiary agencies and programs. The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 went one step further in granting oversight powers to Congress by authorizing House and Senate committees to “review and study, on a continuing basis the application, administration and execution” of laws.
David Dunlap, a 52-year old African American male with 25 year boilermaker experience, 15 years of which include foreman experience, brought suit under Title VII, alleging racial discrimination by the TVA after being looked over after interviewing for positions within the TVA. The district court agreed that “Dunlap had been subjected to discrimination under both disparate treatment and disparate impact analyses, concluding that TVA’s subjective hiring processes permitted racial bias against both Dunlap and other black applicants” (Walsh, 2010). The case was heard by the 6th District Court of Appeals and that court “affirmed the disparate treatment claim, reversed the disparate impact claim, and affirmed the district court’s award of damages and fees to Mr. Dunlap” (Walsh, ...
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was formed as an agency of the federal government that is charged with protecting workers from recognized safety hazards within the workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created as a result of passage of the “Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 in response to dangerous working conditions across the nation and as a culmination of decades of reform” (Walter, 2011, para. 5). President Richard Nixon signed the act into law on December 29, 1970 and The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was officially established on April 28, 1971 (Walter, 2011). During the 41 years on the job, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has identified and addressed numerous work hazards, as well as provided solutions to mitigate and/or avoid placing workers in unnecessary danger. OSHA regulates as enforces regulations throughout the country, however the agency does declare that “states can run their own safety and health programs as long as those programs are at least as effective as the federal program” (http://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-osha.htm). The states that choose to implement their own version of the occupational safety and health plan are referred to as OSHA states, whereas those who implement no plan are required to follow the federal regulations, as set forth by OSHA. OSHA effects all workers and employers in the United States, as the desired effect of the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act is “to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources” (Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1970). OS...
In today’s world, the American still has barriers to overcome in the matter of racial equality. Whether it is being passed over for a promotion at the job or being underpaid, some people have to deal with unfair practice that would prevent someone of color or the opposite sex from having equal opportunity at the job. In 2004, Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Stores Incorporation was a civil rights class-action suite that ruled in favor of the women who worked and did not received promotions, pay and certain job assignments. This proves that some corporations ignore the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which protects workers from discrimination based on sex, race, religion or national origin.
The OSH Act gave OSHA the authority to come into work places and inspect facilities for health and safety risks. Due to shortages in personnel, OSHA inspects accidents and safety complaints that are filed, and those facilities that have a high volume of accident rates. If an individual state has an approved safety and health enforcement plan, than they may be exempt from yearly inspections by OSHA and have their own state personnel conduct the inspections. The Act sets a maximum penalty for safety and health violations, but OSHA has the authority to calculate fines. If an industry objects to the citation or fines, they can go before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. OSHA has been criticized on both ends, by industries for being too strict, and by unions for not being strict enough. In the 1980s, OSHA had instituted a policy that would exempt some workplaces from a complete inspection if they had a lower than average injury rate. However, that policy was abandoned when an employee died from a workplace that OSHA had not fully inspected. OSHA has implemented new procedures that have set higher penalties and increased the maximum fine for all types of infractions.
This type of interpretation to cases can potentially be detrimental to whole of society. In some cases, the pragmatic dissenting opinion would be the most logical ruling because it would be the least harmful to the greatest number of people, since it would look at all of the potential outcomes when deciding on a case. One case in particular that corresponds with this is Lochner v New York. This case was ruling on if the New York Bake Shop Act- setting a maximum work hour limit for bakers- was in violation of liberty to contract. The majority rule of the Supreme Court ruled that this act was in fact unconstitutional because it violated the 14th amendments due process clause by interfering with right for an employer and employee -who are on equal footing- to negotiate and create their own contracts. The Court believed it is given liberty for an employee and employer to do this by themselves without interference. It was also concluded that the job of a baker had no heath risks or dangers involved, which is not true. This ruling is not following the fundamental beliefs of the Constitution because it is disregarding the protection of people in the bakery work force. The justices with the majority opinion overlook the problem that without any guidelines set in place, employers can take advantage of
Disparate treatment is a form of discrimination that is forbidden by laws in which all employers must comply, including fire and emergency services. Disparate treatment in the workplace is applicable to many functions of the workplace including, discipline, promotions, hiring, firing, benefits, layoffs, and testing (Varone, 2012). The claim of disparate treatment arises when a person or group, “is treated differently because of a prohibited classification” (Varone, 2012, p. 439). In the 2010 case, Lewis v. City of Chicago, six plaintiffs accused the city of disparate treatment following testing for open positions within the Chicago Fire Department (Lewis v. City of Chicago, 2010). The case is based on the argument that the Chicago Fire Department firefighter candidate testing, which was conducted in 1995, followed an unfair process of grouping eligible candidates, therefore discriminating against candidates of African-American decent. The case was heard by the Seventh District Court of Appeals and ultimately appeared before the United States Supreme Court, where Justice Scalia delivered the final verdict in favor of the plaintiffs.
There was a concern that industries would not be able to perform as well or meet the requirements demanded by Congress. The fear that the economy would suffer under strict environmental regulations never came to be. Since the introduction of the Clean Air Act of 1970, “aggregate emissions of common air pollutants dropped 68 percent, while the U.S. gross domestic product grew 212 percent. Total private sector jobs increased by 88 percent during the same period” (Clean Air Act and Economy). There is a cornucopia of reasons as to why the U.S. has benefitted from the Clean Air Act: environmental costs are a small percentage of industry revenues, cleaner technologies have made the U.S. a global market leader, more people can work because they are healthier, less money spent on illness, increase in employment and increased revenues… (Clean Air Act and Economy). It is clear that strict pollution laws do not harm the
... includes acts protecting most of employees. Besides, there is an enforcement practice of these acts by courts, arbitration courts and governmental institutions (EEOC). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission plays an important role in protecting employees’ rights. A thorough study of the cases carried out in this work proves that the USA has a well-balanced anti-discrimination system.
"An Ocean Of Trash." Scholastic Action 33.12 (2010): 16. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
OSHA also enforces that employees are not exempt and shall comply with occupational safety and health standards under this Act. Employee conduct, must comply with the OSHA rules and regulations and orders which are applicable to their own action and conduct (Bennett-Alexander-Hartman: Employment Law for Business, Fourth Edition, p 690 p. 2-3).
Our oceans take a large beating every day by the extremely large amount of pollution humans produce. Our society easily dumps their waste into the oceans to dispose of the excessive amount of garbage, sewage, and chemicals, but this small and simple solution is creating an even bigger problem. The way humans dispose of their wastes is causing the death of our beloved marine life. Not only are we killing off our animals, our food source, and our resources, we are also minimizing our usable water. By having a better understanding of the problem on the severe dumping, it will be easier to find ways to help minimize the pollution that is going into the ocean.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act’s mission is to assure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, and education; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health (OSHA.org). OSHA covers an extremely wide array of workers, from construction workers to office workers. However when the act was first passed it was not heavily enforced and lacked inspectors. In 1970 because there were three times as many fish and game wardens than there were OSHA inspectors, people said that the trout and quail were more protected than Americas working men and women (Bennett, Alexander, & Hartman, 2003). Though today OSHA has approximately 2100 inspectors, plus complaint discrimination investigators, engineers, physicians, educators, standards writers, and other technical and support pers...