In the case of Weber v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., the U.S Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana's workers' compensation statute, which provided higher benefits to legitimate children than to illegitimate ones, was unconstitutional as it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The court held that a state cannot discriminate against "illegitimate" children by denying them equal recovery rights for a parent's work-related death. The decision was based on an appeal brought forward by Mrs. Sallie Mae Weber and her three minor dependent children after they were denied full worker’s compensation benefits following Mr. Freddie Lee Weber’s fatal accident at work due to their status as illegitimate offspring under Louisiana law.

In the dissenting opinion for Weber v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., Justice Hugo Black argued that the majority's decision was a misinterpretation of Louisiana law, which he believed did not discriminate against illegitimate children but rather distinguished between acknowledged and unacknowledged children. He contended that this distinction was based on practical considerations, such as ensuring accurate distribution of benefits and preventing fraudulent claims. Furthermore, he asserted that it is not within the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction to judge whether state laws are wise or desirable; instead its role is to determine if they violate the Constitution. In his view, Louisiana's law did not infracate upon equal protection rights because all legitimate and acknowledged illegitimate children were treated equally under it.