In the 1942 case Marshall Field & Co. v. National Labor Relations Board, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The dispute arose when Marshall Field & Company refused to bargain with a union that had been certified by NLRB as representing its employees, arguing that department store workers were not engaged in "commerce" and thus outside of NLRB's jurisdiction under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The court held that even though retail activities are considered local in nature, they have a close and substantial relationship to interstate commerce due to their direct effect on it. Therefore, these activities fall within Congress' power to regulate under NLRA and hence within NLRB’s jurisdiction. This decision affirmed federal authority over labor relations at large retailers.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Marshall Field & Co. v. National Labor Relations Board argued that the majority's decision to uphold the NLRB's jurisdiction over labor disputes involving retail businesses with substantial out-of-state sales was an overreach of federal power. The dissenters believed this interpretation expanded the Commerce Clause beyond its intended scope, infringing upon states' rights to regulate local business activities and labor relations within their borders. They contended that while a company may engage in interstate commerce, not all its operations should be subject to federal regulation; only those directly affecting such commerce should fall under federal jurisdiction. This ruling, they feared, would lead to excessive centralization of power at a national level and undermine state sovereignty by allowing for unwarranted intrusion into purely local matters.