Also known as: National League of Cities · NLC model · National League of Cities v. Usery
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An approach to federalism that imposed judicially enforceable limits on Congress's Commerce Clause power when it regulated traditional state governmental functions. The model was rejected as unworkable because states are protected through the political process rather than by court-defined boundaries.
State officials challenge a federal wage-and-hour law applied to municipal transit workers. The Court upholds the statute, holding that the National League of Cities model of judicial limits on traditional functions is unworkable and that political-process safeguards suffice.
A state agency objects to federal overtime rules covering its employees. The Court applies the political-process rationale, declines to revive the National League of Cities model, and sustains the federal statute.
Local government workers sue to block application of federal labor standards. The Court refuses to enforce the National League of Cities model, ruling that judicial line-drawing between traditional and non-traditional functions is impractical.
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A state legislature claims federal wage rules intrude on core sovereign functions. The Court rejects the claim, explaining that the National League of Cities model has been overruled in favor of reliance on the states' role in federal lawmaking.
Municipal employers seek exemption from federal minimum-wage amendments. The Court holds that the National League of Cities model cannot be maintained and that states must look to Congress rather than the judiciary for protection.
State and local governments argue that federal rules disrupt traditional employment practices. The Court overrules the National League of Cities model, concluding that case-by-case judicial determinations of governmental functions are not administrable.
The model relied on judicially defined limits tied to traditional governmental functions. Garcia replaced that approach with reliance on the political process, holding that states are protected through their participation in federal lawmaking rather than by court-enforced boundaries.
Supporting sources
Judicial review of federal regulation of state and local activities narrowed because courts no longer draw lines between traditional and non-traditional functions. A statute that applies equally to states and private parties is generally upheld.
Supporting sources
…though broad indeed, has limits" that "[t]he Court has ample power" to enforce. Id. , at 196, overruled on other grounds, National League of Cities v. Usery , 426 U. S. 833 (1976), overruled by Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority , 469 U. S. 528 (1985). In response to the dissent's warnings that the Court was powerless to…