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Darby Lumber Company v. United States (1941)

Last Updated: 2006

In Darby Lumber Company v. United States (1941), the U.S. Supreme Court sustained the constitutionality of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which set minimum wages and other working conditions for employees in all businesses (including manufacturing) engaged in interstate commerce. In its decision, the Court explicitly overruled Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918) and dismissed arguments that the FLSA invaded powers reserved to the states by the Tenth Amendment, referring to that amendment as “but a truism.”

SEE ALSO: Hammer v. DagenhartTenth Amendment