In this episode, Gwen and Marc step back from Chevron to examine the older doctrine that both preceded it and now survives it: Skidmore deference. They begin with a medical analogy that contrasts expert judgment grounded in examination and experience with advice that merely sounds confident—setting up the central question of Skidmore: when agencies lack the power to control, how much weight should courts give to what they say?

They walk through Skidmore v. Swift & Co., a 1944 case involving firemen at a meatpacking plant and whether on-call waiting time counts as compensable work. The key issue was not disagreement over expertise, but authority: the agency administering the Fair Labor Standards Act had issued extensive guidance but lacked formal rulemaking power. The Court’s response—giving agency interpretations weigh ...