Section 3 of the National Industrial Recovery Act empowered the President to implement industrial codes to regulate weekly employment hours, wages, and minimum ages of employees. The codes had standing as penal statutes.
Did Congress unconstitutionally delegate legislative power to the President?
The Court held that Section 3 was "without precedent" and violated the Constitution. The law did not establish rules or standards to evaluate industrial activity. In other words, it did not make codes, but simply empowered the President to do so. A unanimous Court found this to be an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority.
Decisions
Decision: 9 votes for Schechter Poultry Corp., 0 vote(s) against Legal provision: U.S. Const. Art I; U.S. Const. Amend. 10; 15 U.S.C. § 703 (1933) (National Industrial Recovery Act § 3)
Sort by Ideology
Full Opinion by Justice Charles E. Hughes
