Texas International Produce Association v. OSHA

A pair of industry associations filed a lawsuit against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in a federal district court in Texas, arguing that the provision of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) that empowers OSHA to create permanent safety standards that are “reasonably necessary or appropriate to provide safe or healthful employment and places of employment” is unconstitutional. According to the associations, the provision impermissibly delegates lawmaking power to the executive branch because it leaves too much discretion to an executive agency to decide specifically what the standards should be. The associations and OSHA both moved for summary judgment on the legal question presented.

Public Citizen filed an amicus brief in support of OSHA’s motion and in opposition to the associations’. The brief explains that Supreme Court has consistently recognized that Congress needs flexibility in deciding how best to pursue its policy goals and thus has held that a law provides sufficient guidance to an executive agency as long as it provides an “intelligible principle” to guide agency action. The OSH Act passes this test because it clearly states Congress’s aim of providing safe and healthful workplaces and defines the scope of OSHA’s authority to pursue that aim. Invalidating the provision at issue, we argue, would be inconsistent with an entire body of Supreme Court precedent that has upheld broadly worded statutes authorizing federal agencies to implement important public protections.