High Court Deals a Blow To California in Labor Case

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court dealt another blow to state autonomy, ruling federal labor law pre-empted California's decision to bar companies from spending state funds to influence union organizing.

Thursday's 7-2 decision was the latest in a string of rulings that read federal statutes broadly enough to displace state efforts to legislate in such disparate areas as regulating mortgage brokers and the right to sue over faulty medical devices.

Where federal law has been silent about the specific state actions at issue, the justices have concluded that Congress intended to bar concurrent state regulation.

The California case stemmed from battles ...