Lochner Era - Timeline and Illustrative Cases

Timeline and Illustrative Cases

The following Supreme Court decisions are usually considered to be representative of the Lochner era:

• Allgeyer v. Louisiana (1897), striking down state legislation prohibiting foreign corporations from doing business in the state
• Lochner v. New York (1905), striking down state legislation limiting weekly working hours
• Adair v. United States (1908), striking down federal legislation prohibiting railroad companies from demanding that a worker not join a labor union as a condition for employment ("yellow-dog contract")
• Coppage v. Kansas (1915), striking down state legislation prohibiting yellow-dog contracts
• Adams v. Tanner (1917), striking down state legislation preventing privately owned employment agencies from assessing fees for their services
• Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), striking down federal regulation of child labor
• Duplex Printing Press Co. v. Deering (1921), construing federal legislation not to exempt labor unions from antitrust lawsuits
• Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co. (1922), invalidating a federal tax on interstate commerce by employers hiring children
• Adkins v. Children's Hospital (1923), striking down federal legislation mandating a minimum wage level for women and children in the District of Columbia
• United States v. Butler (1936), construing congressional taxing power to invalidate the Agricultural Adjustment Act
• Carter v. Carter Coal Company (1936), striking down federal legislation regulating the coal industry