In the case of St. Louis Consolidated Coal Company v. Illinois, 1901, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of Illinois' right to regulate coal mining within its borders. The St. Louis Consolidated Coal Company had challenged an Illinois law that limited miners' workdays to eight hours unless they voluntarily chose to work longer for extra pay. The company argued that this law violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights by depriving them of property without due process and denying them equal protection under the laws because it did not apply equally to all businesses or workers in similar industries. The court rejected these arguments, stating that states have a legitimate interest in protecting workers' health and safety through reasonable regulations like limiting working hours even if those rules do not apply uniformly across all sectors or occupations. This decision affirmed states’ power over labor conditions within their jurisdictions and set a precedent for future cases involving worker protections against exploitative practices.

The dissenting opinion in the case of St. Louis Consolidated Coal Company v. Illinois argued that the state's regulation of coal mining operations was not an unconstitutional interference with interstate commerce, as claimed by the majority ruling. The dissenters believed that states have a right to regulate businesses within their borders for public safety and welfare reasons, even if those businesses are involved in interstate trade. They maintained that such regulations do not violate federal authority over interstate commerce unless they directly conflict with it or discriminate against out-of-state entities. In this case, they saw no evidence of either condition being met; instead, they viewed Illinois' law as a legitimate exercise of its police powers aimed at protecting miners' health and safety without unfairly burdening out-of-state interests.