In the case of Herweg et al. v. Ray, Governor of Iowa, et al., 1981, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that a state cannot withhold unemployment benefits from individuals who move to another state while seeking work. The plaintiffs were two married couples who had moved out of Iowa and sought unemployment benefits but were denied by the State due to their non-resident status. They argued this was in violation of their constitutional right to travel under the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause of Fourteenth Amendment as well as Privileges and Immunities Clause Article IV Section 2. The court agreed with them stating that such restrictions imposed an unconstitutional burden on interstate travel because they penalized those who exercised their fundamental right to migrate between states for employment opportunities without any compelling justification provided by the State.

In the dissenting opinion for Herweg et al. v. Ray, Governor of Iowa, et al., Justice William J. Brennan Jr., joined by Justices Thurgood Marshall and Harry A. Blackmun, argued that the majority's decision was a departure from established precedent regarding equal protection claims under the Fourteenth Amendment. The justices contended that Iowa's durational residency requirement for welfare benefits discriminated against new residents in violation of their constitutional rights to travel and settle in different states freely without penalty or disadvantageous treatment compared to longer-term residents who receive full benefits immediately upon qualification while newcomers must wait one year before receiving similar aid despite having identical needs and qualifications otherwise.