Bunting v. Oregon - Significance

Bunting v. Oregon affirmed the state's authority in enacting labor laws that regulated the number of hours a laborer in selected occupations could work in order to protect the health and well-being of the employee. This authority was granted by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. While substantive due process does not grant the state unlimited power to enact legislation arbitrarily, it does provide a mechanism whereby the state has the ability to protect "the health, peace, morals, and general welfare."