149 Madison Avenue Corp. et al. v. Asselta et al. (331 U.S. 199)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 5, 1947 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 331 U.S. 199 · 67 S. Ct. 1178
- Docket
- No. 497
- Argued
- February 11, 1947
- Decided
- May 5, 1947
- Term
- October Term 1946
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Vinson
- Issue area
- Unions
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Vinson (wrote), Justice Burton, Justice R. H. Jackson, Justice Douglas, Justice Frankfurter, Justice Reed, Justice Black, Justice Rutledge, Justice Murphy
Opinion excerpt
MR. Chief Justice Vinson delivered the opinion of the Court. This employee suit was brought in the District Court to recover overtime compensation, liquidated damages, and a reasonable attorney’s fee pursuant to §§ 7 (a) and 16 (b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Recovery was allowed in the District Court, 65 F. Supp. 385, and that judgment was affirmed in the Circuit Court of Appeals. 156 F. 2d 139. We granted certiorari to consider the important questions presented relating to the application of the overtime provisions of the above-mentioned statute. Respondents are service and maintenance employees who, during the period in question, worked in a loft building owned by petitioner 149 Madison Avenue Corporation and managed by petitioner Williams & Co. It has been stipulated that respondents were engaged in the production of goods for commerce. We are here concerned with the period of employment extending from April 21, 1942, to December 10,1943. Prior to April 21, 1942, employment relations between the petitioners and respondents were governed by a collective wage agreement, known as the Sloan Agreement. According to its terms, employees were paid flat weekly wages for workweeks of specified length which, in the case of most of the respondents, amounted to $25 for 47 hours of weekly employment. No hourly rates were specified, nor was any attempt made to compensate…
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