Mary Gade, Director, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency v. National Solid Wastes Management Association (505 U.S. 88)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 18, 1992 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 505 U.S. 88 · 112 S. Ct. 2374
- Decided
- June 18, 1992
- Term
- October Term 1991
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice O'Connor
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice O’Connor announced the judgment of the Court and delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I, III, and IV, and an opinion with respect to Part II in which The ChieF Justice, Justice White, and Justice Scalia join. In 1988, the Illinois General Assembly enacted the Hazardous Waste Crane and Hoisting Equipment Operators Licensing Act, Ill. Rev. Stat., eh. Ill, ¶¶ 7701-7717 (1989), and the Hazardous Waste Laborers Licensing Act, Ill. Rev. Stat., ch. Ill, ¶¶ 7801-7815 (1989) (together, licensing acts). The stated purpose of the licensing acts is both “to promote job safety” and “to protect life, limb and property.” ¶¶ 7702, 7802. In this case, we consider whether these “dual impact” statutes, which protect both workers and the general public, are pre-empted by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 84 Stat. 1590, 29 U. S. C. §651 et seq. (OSH Act), and the standards promulgated thereunder by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). I The OSH Act authorizes the Secretary of Labor to promulgate federal occupational safety and health standards. 29 U. S. C. § 655. In the Superfund Amendments and Reau-thorization Act of 1986 (SARA), Congress directed the Secretary of Labor to “promulgate standards for the health and safety protection of employees engaged in hazardous waste operations” pursuant to her authority under the OSH Act.…
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