In the case of Wirtz, Secretary of Labor v. Local Union No. 125, Laborers' International Union of North America, AFL-CIO (1967), the U.S Supreme Court ruled that the Secretary of Labor had authority under Title VII to sue a labor union for racial discrimination in its membership practices. The court held that Congress intended to give courts broad power to enforce anti-discrimination laws and thus granted standing to the Secretary of Labor. This decision was significant as it expanded federal powers against discriminatory practices by unions and other organizations covered under Title VII.

In the dissenting opinion for Wirtz v. Local Union No. 125, Justice Douglas argued that Congress did not intend to include construction workers in public works projects under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). He believed that the majority's interpretation of "produced for commerce" was too broad and went beyond what Congress had intended when it passed FLSA. According to him, a more reasonable interpretation would be goods directly entering the stream of commerce or activities closely related and essential thereto. Construction work on public buildings does not meet this criterion as they are end products consumed by local communities rather than being part of an ongoing commercial process involving interstate trade or production for such trade.