Wilson v. New

1917-03-19

Headline: Decision upholds Congress’s law establishing an eight-hour workday and temporary wage protections for railroad workers, allowing the Government to prevent a nationwide strike and bind carriers and employees during study period.

Holding: The Court ruled that Congress could lawfully set an eight-hour workday for interstate railroad employees and temporarily require wage protections to preserve interstate commerce while a commission studies the change.

Real World Impact:

Makes eight-hour workday mandatory for many interstate railroad employees
Requires carriers to keep present wages for eight hours during federal study period
Creates federal commission to study effects and could lead to rate increases if costs justified

Topics: working hours, railroad labor, interstate commerce, temporary wage protections

Summary

Background

Railroad companies, receiving companies, and railroad unions disagreed in 1916 about hours and pay. About 15% of roads used an eight-hour day; about 85% used a 100-mile task done in ten hours. Unions demanded an eight-hour standard and higher overtime pay; employers refused and a nationwide strike was threatened. The President asked Congress to fix an eight-hour day and create a commission to study effects and to consider rate relief if costs rose. Congress passed the law to take effect January 1, 1917, and carriers sued to block enforcement.

Reasoning

The Court asked whether Congress could act under its power to regulate interstate commerce to protect the continued movement of trains. The majority held that Congress could permanently declare an eight-hour day for interstate train service and temporarily require that wages not be reduced during the commission’s observation period. The opinion explained that railroads serve a public interest, that prior regulations (hours, safety devices, employer liability) show broad regulatory power, and that Congress lawfully supplied a temporary wage standard to prevent disruption of interstate commerce. The lower court’s injunction was reversed and the suit dismissed.

Real world impact

The statute makes an eight-hour workday the legal standard for affected interstate railroad work, exempts certain short or electric lines, creates a three-person federal commission to observe effects for six to nine months, and forbids lowering wages during that period while requiring pro rata pay for necessary overtime. The law also prescribes misdemeanor penalties for violations. The eight-hour standard is permanent under the statute; the wage protection during the study period is temporary and may change after the commission’s report.

Dissents or concurrances

A concurring Justice described the law principally as an hours-of-service measure. Several dissenting Justices argued the law unlawfully took private property or imposed wages without due process, and that emergency fears did not create new constitutional powers.