The Virginian Railway Company v. Mullens case in 1925 revolved around the issue of whether a railway company could be held liable for injuries sustained by an employee due to negligence on part of another employee. The plaintiff, Mullens, was injured while working as a brakeman when he fell from a moving train because there were no handholds or footholds provided on the car he was riding. He sued his employer, Virginian Railway Company under Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA). The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Mullens stating that under FELA, railroads are responsible for providing safe work environments and equipment for their employees and can be held liable if they fail to do so resulting in injury or death. This decision reinforced the principle that employers have an obligation to ensure workplace safety.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Virginian Railway Company v. Mullens argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law allowing employees to sue their employers for personal injuries was fundamentally flawed. The dissenters believed this ruling violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees every citizen equal protection under the law. They contended that by favoring workers over employers, this legislation unfairly discriminated against businesses and corporations. Furthermore, they asserted that it was not within a state's power to regulate interstate commerce or interfere with contractual relationships between private parties - both actions they felt were implicit in this statute. Ultimately, these justices feared such laws would lead to an imbalance of power between labor and capital, disrupting economic stability and undermining constitutional protections for property rights.