History of labor law in the United States
Encyclopedia
History of labor law in the United States refers to the development of US labor law, or legal relations between workers, their employers and trade union
s in the United States of America.
Antitrust and the Lochner era
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s in the United States of America.
Nineteenth century
- Thirteenth AmendmentThirteenth Amendment to the United States ConstitutionThe Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, passed by the House on January 31, 1865, and adopted on December 6, 1865. On...
- Commonwealth v. PullisCommonwealth v. PullisCommonwealth v. Pullis of 1806, was the first reported case arising from a labor strike in the United States. It decided that striking workers were illegal conspirators.-Facts:...
(1806) or the Philadelphia Cordwainers case, holding unions were criminal conspiracies - Commonwealth v. HuntCommonwealth v. HuntCommonwealth v. Hunt was a landmark legal decision issued by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on the subject of labor unions. Before this decision, based on Commonwealth v. Pullis, labor unions which attempted to 'close' or create a unionized workplace could be charged with conspiracy...
(1842), holding that workers have the right to organize and strike. - Vegelahn v. GuntnerVegelahn v. GuntnerVegelahn v. Guntner, 167 Mass. 92 is a United States labor law decision from the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. It is noted for its famous dissent, written by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., rather than its majority opinion.-Facts:...
, 167 Mass. 92 (1896) Holmes J dissenting in the Massachusetts Supreme Court, argued that organisation on the worker side is necessary to counter combination on the side of capital, if the market is to work fairly.
- Horace Gray Wood, Master and Servant (1877)
Antitrust and the Lochner eraLochner eraThe Lochner era is a period in American legal history in which the Supreme Court of the United States tended to strike down laws held to be infringing on economic liberty or private contract rights, and takes its name from a 1905 case, Lochner v. New York. The beginning of the period is usually...
- Sherman Act of 1890
- Loewe v. LawlorLoewe v. LawlorLoewe v. Lawlor, is a United States Supreme Court case concerning the application of antitrust laws to labor unions. The Court's decision had the effect of outlawing secondary boycotts as violative of the Sherman Antitrust Act, in the face of labor union protests that their actions affected only...
208 U.S. 274 (1908) or The Danbury Hatters' case - Lochner v. New YorkLochner v. New YorkLochner vs. New York, , was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that held a "liberty of contract" was implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case involved a New York law that limited the number of hours that a baker could work each day to ten, and limited the...
, - Clayton Act of 1914
- Duplex Printing Press Co. v. DeeringDuplex Printing Press Co. v. DeeringDuplex Printing Press Co. v. Deering, 41 S. Ct. 172 is a United States Supreme Court case which examined the labor provisions of the Clayton Antitrust Act and reaffirmed the prior ruling in Loewe v. Lawlor that a secondary boycott was an illegal restraint on trade...
, 41 S. Ct. 172 (1921)
Modern labour law
- Railway Labor Act of 1926
- Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932
- Apex Hosiery Co. v. Leader, 310 U.S. 469 (1940)
- United States v. Hutcheson, 312 US 219 (1941)
- National Labor Relations Act of 1935
- NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp
- Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, minimum wage and overtime
- Employment Act of 1946
Post-war regulation
- Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 or the Taft-Hartley ActTaft-Hartley ActThe Labor–Management Relations Act is a United States federal law that monitors the activities and power of labor unions. The act, still effective, was sponsored by Senator Robert Taft and Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr. and became law by overriding U.S. President Harry S...
, no secondary action, closed shop, enforceable collective agreements - Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 or the Landrum-Griffin Act, union elections, fiduciary duties of leaders
Legislation in the 1970s
- Occupational Safety and Health ActOccupational Safety and Health ActThe Occupational Safety and Health Act is the primary federal law which governs occupational health and safety in the private sector and federal government in the United States. It was enacted by Congress in 1970 and was signed by President Richard Nixon on December 29, 1970...
of 1970, health and safety and whistleblowing
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, private pension minimum standards and fiduciary duties
- Federal Labor Relations Act of 1978, allowing public sector unions
- Humphrey–Hawkins Full Employment Act of 1978
Post 1970s
- Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 is a United States federal law requiring covered employers to provide employees job-protected unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. These reasons include personal or family illness, military service, family military leave, pregnancy,...
, 12 weeks unpaid parental leave after 12 months work over 50 employees - Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 (WARN Act)
- Employee Free Choice ActEmployee Free Choice ActThe Employee Free Choice Act was a legislative bill that was introduced into both chambers of the U.S. Congress on March 10, 2009. The bill's purpose was to,...