| Coppage v. Kansas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Submitted October 30, 1914 Decided January 25, 1915 | |
| Full case name | Coppage v. State of Kansas |
| Citations | 236 U.S. 1 (more) 35 S. Ct. 240; 59 L. Ed. 441; 1915 U.S. LEXIS 1798 |
| Holding | |
| It is outside the scope of state police power to prohibit employment contracts that bar workers from joining a union. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Pitney, joined by White, McKenna, Van Devanter, Lamar, McReynolds |
| Dissent | Holmes |
| Dissent | Day, joined by Hughes |
Coppage v. Kansas, 236 U.S. 1 (1915), was a Supreme Court of the United States case based on United States labor law that allowed employers to implement contracts—called yellow-dog contracts—which forbade employees from joining unions.
The case was decided in the era prior to the Great Depression, when the Supreme Court invalidated laws that imposed restrictions on contracts, especially those of employment. The liberty of contract became viewed as a fundamental right that could be abridged only in extreme circumstances; abridgments violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.