In this 1999 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that state employees could not sue to force state compliance with federal fair-labor laws.

• A. Alden v. Maine
• B. Printz v. United States
• C. United States v. Lopez
• D. McCulloch v. Maryland

Answer: (A)

State sovereign immunity protects state governments from being sued in their own courts by private individuals for actions under federal law. In this 1999 decision, the Supreme Court held that this immunity bars private suits against a state to force compliance with federal fair-labor laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act. The ruling rests on the 11th Amendment, which preserves state sovereignty by preventing private individuals from bringing such claims in state courts unless the state agrees to be sued. Because of that immunity, state employees cannot sue their own state in its courts to enforce federal labor standards—the enforcement power must come through other means, like federal action against the state or other mechanisms that don’t involve private suits in state court.

The other cases mentioned tackle different questions about federal power or constitutional limits (for example, scenarios involving gun background checks, the Commerce Clause, or the nature of federal supremacy and implied powers). They do not address whether private individuals can sue states in state courts to compel compliance with federal statutes.