In the case of Wabash Railroad Company v. Hayes in 1913, the Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over whether or not an employee could sue his employer for injuries sustained on the job due to negligence by another employee. The plaintiff, Mr. Hayes, was injured while working for Wabash Railroad and sued them under Illinois state law which allowed such suits if it could be proven that the injury resulted from negligence on part of fellow employees and that he himself had exercised ordinary care and diligence. The defendant company argued that they were protected from such lawsuits by federal laws governing interstate commerce as they are an interstate railroad company. They contended that allowing individual states to regulate their liability would interfere with uniform national regulation of railroads. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Wabash Railroad stating that when a subject is regulated by Congress within its constitutional authority (in this case, interstate commerce), it preempts any conflicting state legislation even if Congress has chosen only partially to preempt state law.

In the dissenting opinion for Wabash Railroad Company v. Hayes, it was argued that the majority's decision to deny compensation to an injured employee based on a technicality contradicted previous rulings and principles of justice. The dissenting justices contended that the majority had misinterpreted or ignored key aspects of federal law regarding employer liability in workplace accidents. They believed that if an employer knowingly allows dangerous conditions to persist, they should be held accountable for resulting injuries even if those injuries were not directly caused by negligence at the time of accident itself. Furthermore, they disagreed with the notion that employees assume all risks inherent in their work without regard for employers' responsibility to maintain safe working conditions. This interpretation would unjustly protect negligent employers from legal consequences while leaving injured workers without recourse or compensation.