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Opinion of the Court
legislation that proscribes facially constitutional conduct, in order to prevent and deter unconstitutional conduct.
City of Boerne also confirmed, however, that it falls to this Court, not Congress, to define the substance of constitutional guarantees. 521 U. S., at 519-524. "The ultimate interpretation and determination of the Fourteenth Amendment's substantive meaning remains the province of the Judicial Branch." Kimel, 528 U. S., at 81. Section 5 legislation reaching beyond the scope of § 1's actual guarantees must be an appropriate remedy for identified constitutional violations, not "an attempt to substantively redefine the States' legal obligations." Id., at 88. We distinguish appropriate prophylactic legislation from "substantive redefinition of the Fourteenth Amendment right at issue," id., at 81, by applying the test set forth in City of Boerne: Valid § 5 legislation must exhibit "congruence and proportionality between the injury to be prevented or remedied and the means adopted to that end," 521 U. S., at 520.
The FMLA aims to protect the right to be free from gender-based discrimination in the workplace.2 We have held that statutory classifications that distinguish between males and females are subject to heightened scrutiny. See, e. g., Craig v. Boren, 429 U. S. 190, 197-199 (1976). For a gender-based classification to withstand such scrutiny, it must "serv[e] important governmental objectives," and "the discriminatory means employed [must be] substantially related to the achievement of those objectives." United
2 The text of the Act makes this clear. Congress found that, "due to the nature of the roles of men and women in our society, the primary responsibility for family caretaking often falls on women, and such responsibility affects the working lives of women more than it affects the working lives of men." 29 U. S. C. § 2601(a)(5). In response to this finding, Congress sought "to accomplish the [Act's other] purposes . . . in a manner that . . . minimizes the potential for employment discrimination on the basis of sex by ensuring generally that leave is available . . . on a gender-neutral basis[,] and to promote the goal of equal employment opportunity for women and men . . . ." §§ 2601(b)(4) and (5) (emphasis added).
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