who was the woman lawyer in the muller v. oregon case to limit working hours

by Ole Bogan Sr. 9 min read

Many historians have been critical of this decision, noting much as Clara Colby did at the time, that it ingrained into law female dependency in the workplace.Mar 16, 2022

Who was responsible for the case Muller vs Oregon?

Facts of the case The owner of a laundry business, Curt Muller, was fined $10 when he violated the law. Muller appealed the conviction. The state supreme court upheld the law's constitutionality.

What Supreme Court case dealt with limiting women's work hours?

Muller v. OregonOn February 24, 1908, the Supreme Court decided Muller v. Oregon, unanimously upholding an Oregon law setting a 10-hour limit on the workday of women in factories and laundries. The Muller decision was a major victory for rising progressive lawyer Louis D. Brandeis because it upheld protective state regulations.Feb 24, 2022

Why did the Court uphold restrictions on women's work hours in Muller v. Oregon?

Oregon's limit on the working hours of women was constitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment, as it was justified by the strong state interest in protecting women's health. Supreme Court of Oregon affirmed.

Was Muller v. Oregon a victory for the women's movement?

Although contemporary Progressive reformers applauded the decision as a victory in the battle for improved working conditions for women, some equal rights feminists recognized that the decision offered protection by reinforcing gender stereotypes, an argument that would ultimately restrict the economic opportunities ...

Who was president during Muller v. Oregon?

President Benjamin Harrison(1837-1910): Brewer, an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1889-1910), was appointed to the High Court bench by President Benjamin Harrison. He delivered the unanimous opinion in the Muller v. State of Oregon case.

Do you agree with the Supreme Court's decision in Muller give reasons for your answer?

Do you agree with the Supreme Court's decision in Muller? Give reasons for your answer? Yes, Muller broke the law that was in place.

What is Brandeis brief method?

The Brandeis brief was a pioneering legal brief that was the first in United States legal history to rely more on a compilation of scientific information and social science than on legal citations.

Why was Muller v. Oregon overturned?

After Muller, many states passed wages and hours laws and other statutes regulating the conditions of work. However, in 1923, the Supreme Court ruled this legislation was unconstitutional in Adkins v. Children's Hospital. Then the Great Depression of the 1930s forced the Court to reverse its decision.

What did the 1903 Muller v. Oregon decision uphold?

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Muller v. Oregon. In that historic case, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a 1903 Oregon statute prohibiting employment of women in industrial jobs for more than ten hours per day.Feb 13, 2009

Which of the following is true of the Supreme Court's decision in Muller v. Oregon?

Which of the following is true of the Supreme Court's decision in Muller v. Oregon? In reaching its decision, the Court considered scientific evidence showing the harmful effects of long working hours.

How many hours can a woman work in Oregon?

An Oregon state law restricted a women’s working hours to ten per day. After being convicted of requiring a woman to violate the statute, Muller, a laundry business owner, challenged the constitutionality of the statute.

Why can't a woman work without a man?

A state is permitted to constitutionally limit a woman’s working hours without limiting a man’s working hours because the state has a strong interest in promoting the health of women – the “weaker sex.”

What was the significance of Muller v. Oregon?

Oregon, 208 U.S. 412 (1908), was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court. Women were provided by state mandate lesser work-hours than allotted to men. The posed question was whether women's liberty to negotiate a contract with an employer should be equal to a man's.

Who is Curt Muller?

Curt Muller, the owner of a laundry business, was convicted of violating Oregon labor laws by making a female employee work more than ten hours in a single day. Muller was fined $10.

What was the significance of the Muller v. Oregon case?

Oregon, unanimously upholding an Oregon law setting a 10-hour limit on the workday of women in factories and laundries. The Muller decision was a major victory for rising progressive lawyer Louis D. Brandeis because it upheld protective state regulations.

What was the Supreme Court's decision in Lochner v. New York?

Muller came just three years after the Supreme Court’s decision in Lochner v. New York, in which the Court struck down a 10-hour workday for bakers in New York City.

Background

  • Muller v. Oregon was decided in 1908, during the Progressive Era. A time period that began around 1890 and lasted well into the 1920s. During this particular era, Americans sought out to improve worst aspects of industrialization. This included tackling issues like workers’ health, en…
See more on sites.gsu.edu

Procedural History

  • On September 18, 1905 a complaint was filed at the State of Oregon Circuit Court against Curt Muller, owner of Grand Laundry. He was convicted of violating House Bill No. 89, a state statute which placed restrictions on the working hours of women. Muller was fined $10 for violating the state statute by requiring Mrs. Emma Gotcher to work more than 10 hours in a single day. Mulle…
See more on sites.gsu.edu

Issues

  1. Does the statute created by Oregon violate the right to freely contract under the Constitution?
  2. Does a state regulation of working hours for women violate equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment?
  3. Did Oregon surpass its police power by regulating the working hours of women in certain occupations?
See more on sites.gsu.edu

Decision

  • The Supreme Court decision was unanimous, the justices voted 9-0 in favor of Oregon. The majority opinion was written by Associate Justice David Brewer. His opinion was drafted in regards to whether or not the previous law passed in Oregon violated women’s right of freedom of contract. Which was an implicit liberty protected by the due process of the Fourteenth Amendm…
See more on sites.gsu.edu

Majority Opinion

  • Justice David Brewer wrote the majority opinion. In his that no women could not work more than 10 hours a day in factories and laundry.Now the question was, is the state’s statute limiting the length of a woman’s workday constitutional? The court argue that the act is not in conflict with the Federal Constitution. Women are a special class of worker that needs to be protected.The statut…
See more on sites.gsu.edu

Full Text of Opinion

Significance / Impact

  • The Supreme Court had ruled in favor of Oregon,and so did the majority of the country. Although it followed incredibly sexist ideals, at the time of the decision it was seen as a great triumph for a population of women across the country. Following the precedent, multiple states created new laws and statutes that regulated wages, hours, and working conditions. On the other side of the …
See more on sites.gsu.edu

Constitutional Provisions

  • Amendment XIV Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due proc…
See more on sites.gsu.edu

Important Precedents

  1. Allgeyer v. Louisiana (1897), 165 U. S. 578
  2. Holden v. Hardy (1898), 169 U. S. 366
  3. Lochner v. New York (1905), 198 U. S. 45.
See more on sites.gsu.edu

Overview

Muller v. Oregon, 208 U.S. 412 (1908), was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court. Women were provided by state mandate lesser work-hours than allotted to men. The posed question was whether women's liberty to negotiate a contract with an employer should be equal to a man's. The law did not recognize sex-based discrimination in 1908; it was unrecognized until the case of Reed v. Reedin 1971; here, the test was not under the equal protections clause, but a tes…

Background

Curt Muller, the owner of a laundry business, was convicted of violating Oregon labor laws by making a female employee work more than ten hours in a single day. Muller was fined $10. Muller appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court and then to the U.S. Supreme Court, both of which upheld the constitutionality of the labor law and affirmed his conviction.
Louis Brandeis, the young attorney who used social science to argue that women workers neede…

Judgment

In Justice David Josiah Brewer's unanimous opinion, the Court upheld the Oregon regulation. The Court did not overrule Lochner, but instead distinguished it on the basis of "the difference between the sexes". The child-bearing physiology and social role of women provided a strong state interest in reducing their working hours.
That woman's physical structure and the performance of maternal functions place her at a disad…

Significance of the case

Groups like the National Consumer League (which included Florence Kelley and Josephine Goldmark as feminists) and the state won shorter hours for women. However, many equal-rights feminists opposed the ruling, since it allowed laws based on stereotyped gender roles that restricted women's rights and financial Independence. While it provided protection from long hours to white women, it did not extend to women of color, food processors, agricultural worker…

See also

• Bunting v. Oregon
• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 208
• Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905)
• Adkins v. Children's Hospital, 261 U.S. 525 (1923)

Further reading

• Becker, Mary E. (1986). "From Muller v. Oregon to Fetal Vulnerability Policies". University of Chicago Law Review. 53 (4): 1219–1273. doi:10.2307/1599748. JSTOR 1599748.
• Bernstein, David E. (2011). Rehabilitating Lochner: Defending Individual Rights against Progressive Reform. Chapter 4. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-04353-3

External links

• Works related to Muller v. Oregon at Wikisource
• Text of Muller v. Oregon, 208 U.S. 412 (1908) is available from: Cornell CourtListener Findlaw Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• Women Working (1800-1930)