Cite as: 508 U. S. 402 (1993)
Opinion of the Court
alleged underpayment, the argument goes, then so, in the face of alleged underpayment, would the agency. However, in the aftermath of Georgetown, she notes that the agency returned to its earlier position.
The Secretary is not estopped from changing a view she believes to have been grounded upon a mistaken legal interpretation. See Automobile Club of Mich. v. Commissioner, 353 U. S. 180, 180-183 (1957). Indeed, "[a]n administrative agency is not disqualified from changing its mind; and when it does, the courts still sit in review of the administrative decision and should not approach the statutory construction issue de novo and without regard to the administrative understanding of the statutes." NLRB v. Iron Workers, 434 U. S. 335, 351 (1978). See also NLRB v. Curtin Matheson Scientific, Inc., 494 U. S. 775, 787 (1990); NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc., 420 U. S. 251, 265-266 (1975). On the other hand, the consistency of an agency's position is a factor in assessing the weight that position is due. As we have stated: "An agency interpretation of a relevant provision which conflicts with the agency's earlier interpretation is 'entitled to considerably less deference' than a consistently held agency view." INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U. S. 421, 446, n. 30 (1987) (quoting Watt v. Alaska, 451 U. S. 259, 273 (1981)). How much weight should be given to the agency's views in such a situation, and in particular where its shifts might have resulted from intervening and possibly erroneous judicial decisions and its current position from one of our own rulings, will depend on the facts of individual cases. Cf. Federal Election Comm'n v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comm., 454 U. S. 27, 37 (1981).
C
In the circumstances of this case, where the agency's interpretation of a statute is at least as plausible as competing ones, there is little, if any, reason not to defer to its construction. We should be especially reluctant to reject the
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