National League of Cities v. Usery

Nearly 40 years ago Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act,1 and required employers covered by the Act to pay their employees a minimum hourly wage2 and to pay them at one and one-half times their regular *836rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 during a workweek.3 By this Act covered employers were required to keep certain records to aid in the enforcement of the Act,4 and to comply with specified child labor standards.5 This Court unanimously upheld the Act as a valid exercise of congressional authority under the commerce power in United States v. Darby, 312 U. S. 100 (1941),…