National League of Cities v. Usery

SCOTUS- 1976

Facts

• Concerned the extent of the government's commerce clause powers over the direct activity of States in employing workers and setting wages for these workers through the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Procedural History

• SCOTUS found FLSA as applied to "traditional" State government activities (such as employment) unconstitutional.

Issues

• When Congress seeks to directly regulate the activities of the States as public employers, is it violating the 10th Amendment?

Holding/Rule

• When Congress attempts to directly regulate the employment activities of the States (such as through the FLSA), it is violating the 10th Amendment.

Reasoning

• There are limits on the power of Congress to override state sovereignty, even when it is exercising its powers under other parts of the Constitution. While it might be a "truism," the 10th Amendment has significance.
• States claim that this will significantly increase costs and impede the functioning of state governments.
• Also will affect police training, displace state policies about how services such as health care, sanitation, and parks and recreation will be delivered and structured.
• Might not be able to employ teenagers over the summers or employ casual workers.

• The only way to counteract this would be for the states to increase their revenue or reduce the number of employees.

• If Congress may withdraw from the states the authority to make fundamental employment decisions, we think there would be little left of the States' "separate and independent existence."
• (Blackmun- concurring)
• The Court's opinion should not be read to outlaw federal power in areas such as environmental protection, where federal interest is demonstrably greater and where state compliance would be essential.

Dissent

(Brennan)

• This is a repudiation of precedents, and is just a cover for invalidating an act with which the majority disagrees.
• You basically have to go back to the 1930s to find decisions that support this view.

(Stevens)

• The federal government should have the power to regulate employment, even if it is enforced against the States themselves.

Notes

•  None.