Woodrow Wilson signed the Adamson Act of 1916, creating an eight-hour day for interstate railroad workers.
The law was passed during a dispute between major railroad companies and the four operating brotherhoods. Union leaders threatened a nationwide strike, and Congress intervened by establishing an eight-hour standard with overtime after eight hours for covered railroad employees.
The Supreme Court upheld the act in Wilson v. New, rejecting the argument that Congress had unconstitutionally interfered with private contracts. The decision made the law an important episode in the federal government’s expanding role in labor relations.
The Adamson Act did not establish a universal eight-hour day for every American worker. It applied specifically to interstate railroad employees, while later laws extended different protections to broader groups.