Maryland v. Wirtz

To understand Maryland v. Wirtz, it is necessary to go back to 1938, when Congress first passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In its capacity as regulator of interstate commerce, Congress was able to pass some of the first national labor legislation, specifying that any employee "engaged in commerce of in the production of goods for commerce" should receive a minimum wage and overtime pay.

In 1961, Congress widened the coverage of the FLSA. Now it concerned not only those employees directly engaged in interstate commerce, but all employees who worked at enterprises engaged in interstate commerce. In other words, if any part of the company you worked for had to do with interstate commerce, you were entitled to federally set minimum wages and overtime pay, even if you personally had nothing to do with commerce between the states.

In 1966, Congress broadened the FLSA once again. Now it included hospitals, institutions, and schools, which were considered to be involved in interstate commerce by virtue of the fact that they bought, used, and sometimes sold goods made in other states. Moreover, even if these hospitals, institutions, and schools were run by state governments, they were still covered by the FLSA.