Whirlpool Corp. v. Marshall, Secretary of Labor

Decided February 26, 1980. Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 78-1870 · 445 U.S. 1 (1980) · Cited 247 times

Holding

The regulation in question was promulgated by respondent in the valid exercise of his authority under the Act, and constitutes a permissible gloss on the Act, in light of the Act's language, structure, and legislative history.

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.

• Skidmore v. Swift & Co. · 323 U.S. 134 (1944)
• Mourning v. Family Publications Service, Inc. · 411 U.S. 356 (1973)
• Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Milhollin · 444 U.S. 555 (1980)
• Gateway Coal Co. v. United Mine Workers · 414 U.S. 368 (1974)
• Atlas Roofing Co. v. Occupational Safety and Health Review Comm'n · 430 U.S. 442 (1977)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Washington Aluminum Co. · 370 U.S. 9 (1962)
• Lilly v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad · 317 U.S. 481 (1943)
• United States v. Article of Drug . . . Bacto-Unidisk · 394 U.S. 784 (1969)
• General Talking Pictures Corp. v. Western Electric Co. · 304 U.S. 175 (1938)

Cited by

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

• Cuyahoga Valley Railway Co. v. United Transportation Union · 474 U.S. 3 (1985)
• Industrial Union Dept., AFL-CIO v. American Petroleum Institute · 448 U.S. 607 (1980)
• Martin v. Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission · 499 U.S. 144 (1991)
• Ridgway v. Ridgway · 454 U.S. 46 (1981)
• PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton Harris Chiropractic, Inc. · 588 U.S. 1 (2019)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1980). 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).