Auer v. Robbins

Auer v. Robbins is a 1997 U.S. Supreme Court case that dealt with how much weight courts should give to agency interpretations of their own regulations. The Court ruled that if an agency's interpretation is reasonable and consistent, courts should defer to that interpretation. This principle, known as "Auer deference," emphasizes the expertise of agencies in their specialized areas. The case involved police officers challenging a regulation about overtime pay, and the decision reinforced that agencies could clarify ambiguous rules without needing to go through formal rulemaking processes.