David Sarvadi Quoted in the Yale Journal on Regulation Regarding the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)

Keller and Heckman partner David Sarvadi, was quoted in the Yale Journal on Regulation article, “Federal Agency Guidance and the Power to Bind: An Empirical Study of Agencies and Industries” in Vol. 36, 2019. 

The Article was written by Yale Law School Professor Nicholas Parrillo who conducted a study as a consultant for the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS). Professor Parrillo researched the use of guidance in federal regulation.  For a number of years, critics of federal agencies’ use of guidance in place of for formal notice and comment rulemaking have argued that such guidance ends up being the equivalent of formal rules, with little opportunity to influence them in the way that Congress intended under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).  Professor Parrillo believes the agencies are constrained by institutional pressures and procedures to be inflexible, not because they intend the guidance to be the equivalent of a formal rule.  Mr. Sarvadi noted that regulated entities try to maintain good relations with EPA in the TSCA and FIFRA offices; however, with OSHA, employers and the agency have no incentive to work together.”

To read the article, click here