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National League of Cities v. Usery, 426 U.S. 833 (1976)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
National League of Cities v. Usery, 426 U.S. 833 (1976)
National League of Cities v. Usery No. 74-878 Argued April 6, 1975 Reargued March 2, 1976 Decided June 24, 1976 * 426 U.S. 833
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Syllabus
The Fair Labor Standards Act was amended in 1974 so as to extend the Act’s minimum wage and maximum hour provisions to almost all employees of States and their political subdivisions. Appellants (including a number of cities and States) in these cases brought an action against appellee Secretary of Labor challenging the validity of these 1974 amendments and seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. A three-judge District Court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief might be granted.
Held:
1. Insofar as the 1974 amendments operate directly to displace the States’ abilities to structure employer employee relationships in areas of traditional governmental functions, such as fire prevention, police protection, sanitation, public health, and parks and recreation, they are not within the authority granted Congress by the Commerce Clause. In attempting to exercise its Commerce Clause power to prescribe minimum wages and maximum hours to be paid by the States in their sovereign capacities, Congress has sought to wield its power in a fashion that would impair the States’ "ability to function effectively in a federal system," Fry v. United States, 421 U.S. 542, 547 n. 7, and this exercise of congressional authority does not comport with the federal system of government embodied in the Constitution. Pp. 840-852.
2. Congress may not exercise its power to regulate commerce so as to force directly upon the States its choices as to how essential decisions regarding the conduct of integral governmental functions are to be made. Fry v. United States, supra, distinguished; Maryland v. Wirtz, 392 U.S. 183, overruled. Pp. 852-855.
406 F.Supp. 826, reversed and remanded.
REHNQUIST, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J., and STEWART, BLACKMUN, and POWELL, JJ., joined. BLACKMUN, J., filed a concurring opinion, post, p. 856. BRENNAN, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which WHITE AND MARSHALL, JJ., joined, post, p. 856. STEVENS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, post, p. 880.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," National League of Cities v. Usery, 426 U.S. 833 (1976) in 426 U.S. 833 426 U.S. 834–426 U.S. 835. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=S9RZ7NC6PRQ2LWT.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." National League of Cities v. Usery, 426 U.S. 833 (1976), in 426 U.S. 833, pp. 426 U.S. 834–426 U.S. 835. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=S9RZ7NC6PRQ2LWT.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in National League of Cities v. Usery, 426 U.S. 833 (1976). cited in 1976, 426 U.S. 833, pp.426 U.S. 834–426 U.S. 835. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=S9RZ7NC6PRQ2LWT.
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