Brief History
During the end of the 1800s, the sudden boom of industries in the United States created the need for new acts and laws that would protect workers in these new fields. It was with that motive that the Bakeshop Act was enacted in New York.
Joseph Lochner was the owner of a bakery in New York at the time. He was fined twenty-five dollars for violating the Bakeshop Act the first time around and fifty dollars for breaking it a second time. He was convicted and fined which led Lochner to take all the steps that led his case to the United States Supreme Court in search of an appeal.
Bakeshop Act
The Bakeshop Act was established by the government that prevented New York bakers from working over sixty hours a week or over ten hours a day. Lochner violated the Bakeshop Act by having an employee of his work over sixty hours at the bakery that Lochner owned.
Steps Taken
There were many steps that Lochner took in order to work his case all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. First, Lochner lost the case in the original trial court. Second, he appealed the case up to the higher up court, the Appellate Division. Lochner ended up losing this trial as well since the decision was affirmed by the higher court. Third, Lochner took his case up to the highest court in the state of New York. Once again, Lochner's outcome was affirmed by the court and he lost again. The next step taken by Lochner was to appeal his case all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Case Outcome and Significance
The Supreme Court noticed that the Bakeshop Act was not constitutional because it seemed to be overstepping the boundaries of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment as explained by Cornell Law speaks on the rights of the citizens of the United States. It was concluded that since the baking industry is not a necessarily dangerous one, and that the harsh limit of hours bakers are allowed to work is unfair. Other similar acts at the time were established to protect workers in more dangerous industries such as the mining industry.
It was ruled by the United States Supreme court that there was an overstepping of government power and that the Bakeshop Act interfered with the right of an individual to contract workers (under the due process clause). The due process clause can be summarized as the state and the federal government being prohibited from depriving life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Therefore, the Fourteenth Amendment was being violated by the Bakeshop Act.
Lochner won the case at the highest level court of the United States (The Supreme Court) even though it contradicted all the previous rulings of the lower courts beforehand.
By Elidia Magaña
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