National League of Cities v. Usery

E15483

National League of Cities v. Usery was a 1976 U.S. Supreme Court case that temporarily limited Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause by holding that federal wage and hour regulations could not be applied to traditional state government functions.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
federal court case
areaOfLaw constitutional law
federalism
labor and employment law
arguedDate March 2, 1976
citation 426 U.S. 833
constitutionalProvisionInterpreted Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution
Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
country United States
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate June 24, 1976
decisionType 5–4 decision
dissentingOpinionBy Harry A. Blackmun
John Paul Stevens
Thurgood Marshall
William J. Brennan Jr.
distinguishedFrom Maryland v. Wirtz
doctrine traditional governmental functions test
followedBy Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority
fullName National League of Cities et al. v. Usery, Secretary of Labor, et al.
holding Congress may not, under the Commerce Clause, directly displace the States’ freedom to structure integral operations in areas of traditional governmental functions
minimum wage and maximum hour provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act could not constitutionally be applied to certain state employees performing traditional governmental functions
impact temporarily restricted Congress’s ability to impose wage and hour regulations on state and local governments
joinedByInMajority Byron R. White
Lewis F. Powell Jr.
Potter Stewart
Warren E. Burger
jurisdiction federal question jurisdiction
languageOfOpinion English
legalIssue Tenth Amendment limits on federal power
application of Fair Labor Standards Act to state and local governments
scope of Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause
majorityOpinionBy William H. Rehnquist
overruledBy Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority
overruledByCitation 469 U.S. 528
overruledByYear 1985
page 833
petitioner National League of Cities
precedentFor temporary limitation on federal regulation of state governmental functions
relatedCase Maryland v. Wirtz
reporter United States Reports
respondent William J. Usery Jr.
respondentOffice United States Secretary of Labor
statuteInterpreted Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
subsequentStatus expressly overruled and no longer controlling precedent on the Tenth Amendment limits announced in the case
volume 426
year 1976


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