Government Agencies and Administrative Law

Federal Government
-NLRB (National Relations Board)
-SEC (Securtities and Exchange Commission)
-IRS (International Revenue Service)
-EPA (Evironmental Protection Agency)
-OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Admin.)

State Governments (e.g. industrial commissions governing boards for universities, public utilities commissions, licensing boards)

Local Governments (e.g. zoning boards, school boards, welfare agencies)

-Investigation

-Rule Making

-Rulings

-Supervision of relevant activities in specified thematic and geographic areas

-Power delegated by a relevant legislative body or chief executive (U.S. President, state governor, city mayor)

-Responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions

-Hold hearings

-Make rules

-Supervise implementation of rules

-Defend itself in court

-Most are adjudicative (involving administrative law judge, plaintiff and defendant) - determine facts of a dispute, decisions rendered by federal agencies can be appealed to a U.S. District Court

-Some are legislative - device for collecting evidence and input prior to making a general rule

Rules are usually made in accordance to the directives in the statute (in the law that stands) creating the Agency and delegating certain powers to the Agency

Legislative Rules
-Called by a statute
-Have the same force as statutory law if pursuant to required administrative procedures

Interpretative Rules
-Rules interpreting existing laws if relevant to the Agency's jurisdiction
-A document produced by the agency to explain regulations it has set or to explain the meaning of a statute that it administers.
-Do not have full force of law, but are usually treated with deference (humble respect) by the courts

-Applies to criminal law, but not to civil law

-Means that an action cannot be unlawful prior to the enactment of the law

-Administrative Procedures Act (APA): Governs the process by which federal agencies develop and issue regulations. It includes requirements for publishing notices of proposed and final rulemaking in the Federal Register, and provides opportunities for the public to comment on notices of proposed rulemaking.

-Prevents rules from being arbitrary and completely unfair to one or more of those supervised by an Agency or to the public in general

A proposed rule is published in the Federal Register and is open to public criticism and comment. The comments are taken into consideration and, most of the time, affect the final outcome of the rule. The rule is then published and takes effect 30 days later.