The U.S. Supreme Court case Farmers Reservoir & Irrigation Co. v. McComb, Wage & Hour Administrator (1948) centered around the question of whether employees of a mutual irrigation company were entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The court ruled in favor of the workers, stating that they should be paid for their overtime work as per FLSA guidelines because their activities constituted 'commerce' within the meaning of FLSA and thus fell under its jurisdiction. This decision was significant as it expanded federal wage and hour protections to include workers who had previously been excluded from such benefits due to their employment by non-profit mutual companies.

In the dissenting opinion for Farmers Reservoir & Irrigation Co. v. McComb, Justice Frankfurter argued that the majority's interpretation of "produced" in relation to commerce was too broad and inconsistent with previous rulings. He contended that not all activities related to production should be considered as part of interstate commerce under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Specifically, he disagreed with categorizing irrigation services provided by a local company as being directly involved in producing goods for interstate commerce simply because they indirectly supported agricultural production destined for out-of-state markets. This expansive view could potentially bring almost any activity within federal jurisdiction, which would undermine state authority and upset balance between states and federal government established by Constitution.