The Bakeshop Act was put into place after concerns began to emerge about the health and well-being of bakers, the abundance of hours the men would work was unhealthy for the workers and proved to be hazardous in the workplace. In 1905 the Supreme Court ruled against this law in the case of Lochner Vs New York, the Supreme Court ruled against the New York state laws saying that the state could not set a maximum amount of hours that bakers could work, they ruled this as unconstitutional and that it should be left up to the employer and employee to set the contract of terms for employment. During this period the government did not make a lot of decisions on workplace conditions, they relied heavily on the contracts put into place between the employer and employee. The court advised that it was considered a fundamental freedom to buy and sell labor and was protected by the fourteenth amendment. The court used the rationale of the due process clause to determine the outcome in this case. The defendant Mr. Lochner, was fined fifty dollars or incarceration until he was able to pay the fine not to exceed fifty days in jail. In 1903 the state of Oregon pass into law that a women could not work more than ten hours a day in a factory or laundries. In the 1905 case of Muller …show more content…
In the case of Lochner vs New York, I believe that the Supreme Court’s ruling was unjust. I do not believe that workers should have to work over the hours that was set by the Bakeshop Act, anything over sixty hours a week does not allow for the employee to get the rest the deserve, and need for health reasons. When the Supreme Court over ruled the law that was put into place by the state they did so at the stake of the employee and for the well- being of the employer. Working this many hours is not only creates a health risk for the employees overall well-being but it also increases the risk of accidents in the workplace. I believe that the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule the law passed by the state in the Bakeshop Act, was because these types of positions were being filled by males. Human beings are not meant to work this many hours, we are not machines. In the ruling of Muller vs Oregon, the government confirmed the overall attitude towards women in this particular time period, that women are not equal to men, but inferior. Since the beginning of time women have been responsible for the household, worked along with men in the fields before the entering into the workplace. I believe that the ruling in this case as well was not a fair ruling, the ruling was passed down after it was argued that women are weaker than men, and because we have the ability to bear children,