In the 1934 case of Alaska Packers Association v. Industrial Accident Commission of California, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state's jurisdiction over a workers' compensation claim filed by an injured employee who was contracted in California but got injured while working in Alaska. The court held that since the employment contract was made within California and included provisions for worker’s compensation under Californian law, it is therefore subject to its jurisdiction even if injury occurred outside state boundaries. This decision set a precedent for future cases involving interstate commerce and labor laws, establishing that states have authority over contracts executed within their borders regardless of where work-related injuries occur.

In the dissenting opinion for Alaska Packers Association v. Industrial Accident Commission of California, Justice Cardozo argued that the majority's decision was an overreach and a violation of state sovereignty. He contended that California had jurisdiction to apply its workers' compensation laws to injuries sustained by Alaskan fishermen while in San Francisco preparing for their voyage. According to him, it was irrelevant whether or not these men were technically "seamen" under federal law because they were injured on land, not at sea. Furthermore, he believed that states should have the power to protect their citizens from unscrupulous employers who might try to evade liability by claiming maritime jurisdiction. Thus, he disagreed with the majority's view that federal admiralty law preempted state workers' compensation laws in this case.