Muller v. Oregon

US Supreme Court decision of 1908 dealing with the constitutionality of state laws regulating working conditions for women. Muller, an Oregon laundry owner, was convicted for requiring his female employees to work longer than ten hours a day, exceeding the legal maximum for women according to state law. He appealed the conviction on the grounds that the state law violated the Fourteenth Amendment right to freedom of contracts.

The Court upheld the conviction, ruling that the law legitimately promoted public health; since women were at greater risk in the workplace, they warranted state protection.