[Reading level: C1 – Advanced]
Arrested for forcing employees to overwork, the bakery owner argued that the state could not interfere in the labor agreement. The case created a turning point about the US Constitution for more than 100 years.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, most New York City bakeries opened in apartment cellars, because rents were low and floors were sturdy enough to withstand the weight of ovens. The ceiling was very low, only about 1.5 meters, forcing most bakers to stoop.
The bakeries have few doors, and there is little light during the day. In summer, employees were subject to intense heat, and in winter, even the heat of an oven could not keep bakers warm. Inadequate ventilation also meant that powder dust and fumes during baking could not escape.
Most people who visited these bakeries agreed that the employees looked dirty and that the bread they produced posed a health risk to consumers. Working long hours in this environment also adversely affected the workers’ health. In 1895, the average bakery employee worked 74 hours a week, even longer.
To address these issues, New York passed the Bakery Act of 1895, which established minimum hygiene standards, including regulations that forbade domesticated animals in bakeries and forbade workers to sleep in baking chamber. An important provision was to limit the working hours of bakers to no more than 10 hours per day and 60 hours per week.
Joseph Lochner was a German immigrant who owned a bakery in Utica, New York, that made cookies, breads, and pastries for early-morning customers.
Unlike other bakeries, where there were two separate shifts for evening and morning, Lochner’s bakery employed only a team of bakers. Lochner employees, therefore, often worked late at night, sometimes sleeping in the bakery before getting up early to bake cakes for customers.
In January 1901, Mr. Lochner was arrested for violating the Bakery Act. But he said it was not a crime because in the contract signed with employees there was a clause “they are willing to work overtime.”
Mr. Lochner’s attorney argued that the freedom to contract is one of the basic rights of workers, protected by the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which said not even the government could interfere interfere with this right.
But the Court argued that the freedom to contract should still be restricted, to protect public health or the health of workers, as in this case.
The court found Lochner guilty and fined him $50 (more than $1,700 today). Mr. Lochner twice appealed to the Court of Appeal, but was unsuccessful. Finally, the Supreme Court decided to open the trial, February 1905.
Finally, the Supreme Court reversed the results of the case, declaring the victory belonged to Mr. Lochner, arguing that the extension of working hours did not affect the health of workers, as well as the quality of products.
“Bakery baking is not the same as mining ore, it is not a hard and dangerous type of labor. Therefore, limiting the number of working hours is not meaningful in protecting the health of bakers,” the judgment stated.
While bakery owners and other businessmen welcomed the Court’s decision, labor organizations denounced it as reactionary, asserting their view of the judiciary as the hand of capitalist entrepreneurs and the enemy of working people.
A century later, the Supreme Court’s decision is still criticized by legal scholars as one of the most condemned in American history. The 14th Amendment, which stipulated that “the State must not interfere in the labor contract”, has been criticized by scholars as a tool of the exploitative capitalist regime to openly oppress workers, restricting State control and limit the minimum rights of workers.
From a macro perspective, the case is frequently cited as an example of the most important business case ever decided by US courts, severely limiting the government’s ability to regulate business and the economy.
Finally, in 1937, after three decades of controversy, the Supreme Court ruled that “freedom of contract is not unlimited”. This means that the contract is not only a private binding between the employee and the employer, but it must be in accordance with regulations of the State.
Today, the Lochner Bakery case is imprinted on every American law student’s mind as a bad judicial decision and one of the most notorious of the Constitutional law cases.
Source: https://vietnam.postsen.com/world/151168/The-baker%E2%80%99s-lawsuit-and-the-worst-sentence-in-American-history.html
WORD BANK:
interfere /ˌɪn.təˈfɪər/ [B2] (v): can thiệp
constitution /ˌkɒn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/ [C1] (n): Hiến pháp
cellar /ˈsel.ər/ [B2] (n): tầng hầm
sturdy /ˈstɜː.di/ (adj): chắc chắn
oven /ˈʌv.ən/ [B1] (n): lò nướng
stoop /stuːp/ (v): khom lưng
be subject to sth /ˈsʌb.dʒekt/ [C1] (adj): phải chịu cái gì
intense /ɪnˈtens/ [C1] (adj): gay gắt, khắc nghiệt
inadequate /ɪˈnæd.ɪ.kwət/ [C1] (adj): không đủ
ventilation /ˈven.tɪ.leɪt/ (n): thông gió
pose a risk to sb/sth [C1] (v): đe dọa tới ai/cái gì
adverse /ˈæd.vɜːs/ [C2] (adj): xấu, tiêu cực
address /əˈdres/ [C1] (v): giải quyết
establish a standard (v): thiết lập tiêu chuẩn
hygiene /ˈhaɪ.dʒiːn/ [C1] (n): vệ sinh
domesticated animal /dəˈmes.tɪ.keɪ.tɪd ˈæn.ɪ.məl/ (n): vật nuôi
chamber /ˈtʃeɪm.bər/ (n): buồng
provision /prəˈvɪʒ.ən/ (n): điều khoản (luật, hợp đồng)
immigrant /ˈɪm.ɪ.ɡrənt/ [B2] (n): người nhập cư
pastry /ˈpeɪ.stri/ [C1] (n): bánh ngọt
shift /ʃɪft/ [B2] (n): ca làm việc
clause /klɔːz/ (n): điều khoản
attorney /əˈtɜː.ni/ [C1] (n): luật sư
amendment /əˈmend.mənt/ (n): tu chính án
restrict /rɪˈstrɪkt/ [C1] (v): hạn chế
find sb guilty /ˈɡɪl.ti/ [B1] (v): kết tội ai đó
appeal /əˈpiːl/ (v): kháng cáo
the Court of Appeal (n): Tòa phúc thẩm
the Supreme Court (n): Tòa án Tối cao
trial /traɪəl/ [B2] (n): phiên tòa
reverse sth /rɪˈvɜːs/ [C1] (v): đảo ngược cái gì
mining /ˈmaɪ.nɪŋ/ [C2] (n): khai thác
ore /ɔːr/ (n): quặng
judgment /ˈdʒʌdʒ.mənt/ [C2] (n): bản án
denounce /dɪˈnaʊns/ (v): tố cáo, lên án
reactionary /riˈæk.ʃən.ər.i/ (adj): phản động
assert /əˈsɜːt/ [C1] (v): khẳng định
judiciary /dʒuːˈdɪʃ.ər.i/ (n): cơ quan tư pháp
capitalist /ˈkæp·ɪ·t̬əl·ɪst/ (adj): thuộc về tư bản
entrepreneur /ˌɒn.trə.prəˈnɜːr/ (n): doanh nhân
scholar /ˈskɒl.ər/ [C1] (n): học giả
condemn /kənˈdem/ [C2] (v): lên án
stipulate /ˈstɪp.jə.leɪt/ (v): quy định
exploitative /ɪkˈsplɔɪ.tə.tɪv/ (adj): mang tính bóc lột
regime /reɪˈʒiːm/ [C2] (n): chế độ
oppress /əˈpres/ (v): đàn áp
macro /ˈmæk.rəʊ/ (adj): vĩ mô
cite sth as sth /saɪt/ (v): lấy cái gì như dẫn chứng cho cái gì
regulate /ˈreɡ.jə.leɪt/ [C1] (v): điều tiết
controversy /ˈkɒn.trə.vɜː.si/ [C1] (n): tranh cãi
rule /ruːl/ (v): ra phán quyết
binding /ˈbaɪn.dɪŋ/ (n): sự ràng buộc
in accordance with sth /əˈkɔː.dəns/ [C1] (pre): phù hợp với cái gì
imprint sth on sb’s mind /ɪmˈprɪnt/ (v): in sâu cái gì vào tâm trí
notorious /nəʊˈtɔː.ri.əs/ [C1] (adj): khét tiếng
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