I think it is more likely that it has been intentionally broadened from its original scope in order that the Federal Government be able to exercise a wider range of powers than intended by the Framers.
While I don't always agree with the way the Supreme Court decides matters (and it has seen fit to reverse itself on more than one occasion), I like the system of using the court as the appropriate forum to try such questions, and of electing legislators and executives to develop or implement new rules where the existing ones turn out to be flawed. If you feel you have spotted a glaring flaw in the Court's reasoning, I urge you to write it up and circulate it as widely as possible.
Issues surrounding capitalism, the division of labor etc. were being actively discussed back then, and industrialization as we know it got started properly in 1789 thanks to the efforts of Sam Slater.
Besides which, the correct way to expand the powers of the Federal Government is by an amendment to the Constitution, not the liberal interpretation of existing clauses. The former is transparent & leaves room for public debate; the latter is the practice of political appointees who do not care for their expansion to be the subject of public scrutiny in advance.
"The Congress shall have Power....To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_One_of_the_United_State...]
How do private employment agreements fall into any of those categories?