Admin Can state law be more strict than federal law?
While states can give people more rights than federal law, states cannot be more restrictive than federal laws. State laws may not infringe on federal law, meaning that if a right is afforded to Washington State residents on a federal level, the state legislature may not infringe on those rights.
Can a state ignore a federal law?
Thus, the federal courts have held that under the Constitution, federal law is controlling over state law, and the final power to determine whether federal laws are unconstitutional has been delegated to the federal courts. The courts therefore have held that the states do not have the power to nullify federal law.
What happens if a state law contradicts a federal law?
When state law and federal law conflict, federal law displaces, or preempts, state law, due to the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. Congress has preempted state regulation in many areas. In some cases, such as medical devices, Congress preempted all state regulation.
Is the federal law the same as the state law?
State laws only govern the citizens within a particular state, but federal laws apply to all U.S. citizens. When state and federal laws clash, think of the federal law as the trump card.
How are state laws subordinate to federal laws?
The Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution establishes that state laws are subordinate to federal laws and regulations. Put simply, federal law governs state law; however, this is only the case when federal and state laws conflict with one another.
Can a federal law override a state law?
Mere overlap on subject matter is not enough to strike down a state statute; it must be impossible to comply with both federal and state law before a federal law overrides a state law. An example of this concept in action as applied to workplace drug testing is the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) drug testing regulations.
Do you have to comply with both state and federal law?
Since employers in general are not governed by DOT regulations, it is not impossible for them to comply with both state and federal law. Therefore, state laws prohibiting random drug testing apply to all such employers. Other intersections between state and federal laws are even less straightforward.