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Supreme Court Appears Split Over Whether Federal Agencies May Fine Businesses Themselves
By Eleanor Ever Loyal
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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court heard oral argument Tuesday, Nov. 10, in a case that could undermine many federal regulatory agencies’ ability to fine businesses for violating federal law, and the justices appeared divided, according to NPR’s report of the argument. No decision was reported.
The case arises from the federal program under which farmers temporarily employ migrant workers and must provide housing, meals, water and wages, policed by the Department of Labor. The department fined Sun Valley Orchards of New Jersey a half-million dollars for unsanitary conditions — unsafe drinking water, 20-bunk rooms and broken sinks — and for failure to pay promised wages.
Sun Valley disputes the charges and contends that administrative fines are unconstitutional and deny a jury-trial right on appeal, NPR reported.
Deputy Solicitor General Sarah Harris, arguing for the Labor Department, warned that requiring all civil penalties to be imposed in Article III courts would be “the nuclear option” and “catastrophic,” disrupting Medicare, Medicaid, the federal student-loan program and more, and leading to massive under-enforcement.
Chief Justice John Roberts pressed Harris on whether the government was leveraging broad executive authority beyond its justification, according to NPR.
Sun Valley’s lawyer, Robert Johnson, argued that the statute contemplates penalties but says nothing about where they should be adjudicated. Justices Jackson, Kavanaugh and Alito each pushed back on the parties’ competing frameworks in the exchanges NPR reports.
The stakes extend well beyond a single farm in New Jersey. If the court requires civil penalties to be imposed only by Article III courts, agencies that now impose fines through administrative proceedings could face a far more cumbersome enforcement process — or, as the government warned, a sharp decline in enforcement.
The justices’ questions did not point to a clear majority for either side. The argument left open whether the court will draw a line between different kinds of penalties, preserve the existing administrative system or require a broader shift to federal court.
No decision has been announced, and the court has not said when it will rule.
— Eleanor Ever Loyal, National Desk
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