In the 1911 case of Brinkmeier v. Missouri Pacific Railway Co., the U.S Supreme Court examined a dispute involving an employee injury claim against his employer, the Missouri Pacific Railway Company. The plaintiff, Mr. Brinkmeier, was injured while working for the railway company in Kansas and sought compensation under Nebraska law where he resided and had been hired by the company's agent. However, both lower courts ruled that Kansas law should apply as it was where he worked and got injured; thus denying him recovery since under Kansas law at that time employees could not sue their employers for injuries sustained during work if they were covered by worker’s compensation insurance which Mr. Brinkmeier was. The Supreme Court affirmed this decision stating that although companies operating in multiple states are subject to laws of all those states, when it comes to workplace accidents or injuries - jurisdiction is determined based on location of employment rather than residence or place of contract signing.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Brinkmeier v. Missouri Pacific Railway Co., 1911, argued that the plaintiff should have been allowed to recover damages for injuries sustained while working on a railway line. The justice disagreed with the majority's interpretation of federal law and believed that it was too narrow. He contended that Congress intended to protect all employees involved in interstate commerce, not just those physically moving goods across state lines. In his view, this included workers like Brinkmeier who maintained and repaired tracks used for interstate transport even though they were not directly engaged in transporting goods or passengers themselves. Therefore, he felt that denying recovery based on such a technicality contradicted both the spirit and letter of federal legislation designed to safeguard railroad workers' rights.