Lynn Martin, Secretary of Labor v. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission et al.

Decided March 20, 1991. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-1541 · 499 U.S. 144 (1991) · Cited 867 times

Holding

A reviewing court should defer to the Secretary when the Secretary and the Commission furnish reasonable but conflicting interpretations of an ambiguous regulation promulgated by the Secretary under the Act.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Cuyahoga Valley Railway Co. v. United Transportation Union · 474 U.S. 3 (1985)
• Bowen v. Georgetown University Hospital · 488 U.S. 204 (1988)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Bell Aerospace Co. · 416 U.S. 267 (1974)
• Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Milhollin · 444 U.S. 555 (1980)
• Batterton v. Francis · 432 U.S. 416 (1977)
• Whirlpool Corp. v. Marshall · 445 U.S. 1 (1980)
• Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Assn. of United States, Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. · 463 U.S. 29 (1983)
• Skidmore v. Swift & Co. · 323 U.S. 134 (1944)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Chenery Corp. · 332 U.S. 194 (1947)
• Udall v. Tallman · 380 U.S. 1 (1965)
• Burlington Truck Lines, Inc. v. United States · 371 U.S. 156 (1962)
• Atlas Roofing Co. v. Occupational Safety and Health Review Comm'n · 430 U.S. 442 (1977)
• Lyng v. Payne · 476 U.S. 926 (1986)
• Mullins Coal Co. of Va. v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs · 484 U.S. 135 (1987)
• Northern Indiana Public Service Co. v. Porter County Chapter of Izaak Walton League of America, Inc. · 423 U.S. 12 (1975)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Kisor v. Wilkie · 588 U.S. 558 (2019)
• Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Assn. · 575 U.S. 92 (2015)
• Lawson v. FMR LLC · 571 U.S. 429 (2014)
• United States v. Mead Corp. · 533 U.S. 218 (2001)
• Christensen v. Harris County · 529 U.S. 576 (2000)
• Pauley v. BethEnergy Mines, Inc. · 501 U.S. 680 (1991)
• Thomas Jefferson University v. Shalala · 512 U.S. 504 (1994)
• Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Assn. · 505 U.S. 88 (1992)
• Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Co. · 505 U.S. 469 (1992)
• Reno v. Koray · 515 U.S. 50 (1995)
• Gonzales v. Oregon · 546 U.S. 243 (2006)
• Christopher v. Smithkline Beecham Corp. · 567 U.S. 142 (2012)
• Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Greenwich Collieries · 512 U.S. 267 (1994)
• Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo · 603 U.S. 369 (2024)
• Shalala v. Guernsey Memorial Hospital · 514 U.S. 87 (1995)
• Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center · 568 U.S. 597 (2013)
• Dunn v. Commodity Futures Trading Commission · 519 U.S. 465 (1997)
• West Virginia v. EPA · 597 U.S. 697 (2022)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1991). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).