WLF Urges Supreme Court to Reject Department of Labor’s In-House Adjudications

“Congress never authorized the Department to act as both prosecutor and judge in actions for civil penalties.”
—Jay DeSanto, WLF Senior Litigation Counsel

Click HERE to read WLF’s brief.

Washington, DC—Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm a lower-court decision rejecting the Department of Labor’s in-house adjudication of disputed monetary penalties arising under the H-2A guest-worker program. In its amicus brief, WLF argues that Congress never authorized the Department to serve as both prosecutor and judge in enforcement actions for civil penalties.

The case stems from the Department’s enforcement action against Sun Valley Orchards, a participant in the H-2A program, which allows agricultural employers to hire foreign workers for seasonal labor. The Department claimed that Sun Valley violated terms in its H-2A job orders and sought over $550,000 in civil penalties and back wages. But rather than pursue those remedies in federal court, the Department not only prosecuted—but also adjudicated—Sun Valley’s liability through its own administrative process that ended in a final order requiring Sun Valley to pay.

In its brief, WLF argues that the governing statute does not authorize the Department’s in-house adjudication scheme. It contends that federal law establishes a default rule that civil penalties must be adjudicated in Article III courts unless Congress clearly provides otherwise, and that Congress hasn’t clearly done so here. WLF also argues that the Department’s interpretation of the statute should be rejected because it raises serious constitutional concerns under Article III, the Seventh Amendment, and the separation of powers.