Evening star., 1946-08-09
CIearanceGiven
On Retroactive
Overtime Pay
Truman Signs Bill
Affecting Million
U. S. Employees

@'ASAC eAAoll q llllAlOIi 1OSCi IL
ment employees will soon begin
to draw overtime pay retroactive
to 1884 as the result of the sign
ing by President Truman Of
legislation yesterday.
Money to pay the overtime had
previously been appropriated In a
$20,000,000 item contained in the
third deficiency appropriation bill
signed by the President.
Most of those who will get the
back pay are or were employed in
Army and Navy installations
throughout the country, but many
of the beneficiaries of the new leg
islation are in the Government
Printing Office, the Bureau of En-
craving and Printing and the Naval
Gun Factory here.
Pay Can Be Made Direct.
The legislation, submitted to Con-
gress by the controller general, au-
thorizes Government agencies to pay
this overtime direct to their en-
ployes or former employees instead
OF sending their claims through the
General Accounting Office.
Between 100000 and 1000 900
people will receive the overtime, of
relatively small amounts to each
person, according to estimates by
officials of the General Accounting
Office.
The overtime disbursements is oc-
casioned by the difference In call
culating the extra pay for night
workers on the night base pay as
against the day base pay. Also in
volved is some overtime for holiday
and leave pay.
Retirement Pay Given at IS.
Thousands of Federal employees
over SIS years of age who are dis
missed under the reduction in force
program, after Is years service,
will be able to retire with annuity
rights, under another bill signed
by the President.
The measure, sponsored by Repre-
sentative Forand, Democrat, of
Rhode Island brings retirement
benefits to employees who otherwise
would not have been able to obtain
such benefits until they reached
retirement age of so or 81.
The new act entities them to full
retirement benefits, less a per cent
reduction in the payment for each
year they are under the retirement
age.
The measure as it came from
the House carried no floor on the
age of the employe who would
benefit. But the Senate inserted
the age limit of SIS beneath which
the bill would not be effective.
Later separate bills were introduced
in both House and Senate to strike
the figure SIS from the bill, but
they failed of action before ad-
journment of Congress.
Some Federal employees in the
Metropolitan Area are believed to
be benefited by the new act, but
most of them are or were EMPLOYED
in wartime naval and military es-
tablishments ana factories else
where.
Other d. c. Bills Signed.
Other District bills were signed
late yesterday by the President.
One authorizes installation here
OF a statue of Nathan Hale, the
American patriot of the Revolution
ary War who was executed by the
British. The statue is a duplicate
of the original by Bella Pratt, which
stands on the Yale University
campus. 1t has been bequeathed to
the Government by the late George
Dudley Seymour and now stands
at the Hale birthplace at South
Coventry, Conn. No site has yet
been selected. but will be chosen
by the National Park Service and
the Fine Arts Commission. Mr.. Sey-
mour, an attorney, purchased the
birthplace of Nathan Hale in 1914,
to preserve it as memorial.
Provides New Freboat.
The District gets a fireboat known
as Maquinna from the Navy un-
der another bill approved by Presi-
dent Truman. The boat is to re-
place the obsolete Firefghter,
now stationed in Washington
Channel.
The Maquinna was described
by District officials as "the last
word" in flre-fighting equipment.
1t is 112 feet overall in length, with
27-foot 3-inch beam, of ASS tons
displacement. Powered by two
Diesel engines of 500 horsepower
each. the boats fire-fighting equip
ment includes two electrically driv-
en- centrifugal pumps capable of
throwing 1000 gallons of water per
minute. There are eight hunks
aboard
Other bills signed by the Presi-
dent will:
Strengthen authority of District
Commissioners and the Health De-
partment for control of communi-
cable and preventable disease;
Permit use in the District of the
flash" method of pasteurization of
milk in Is seconds at high tempera-
lures;
Permit reappointment immedi-
ately of jury commissioners without
the necessity of a three-year hiatus
between terms.
Authorize increase from $40 to SIS
the registration fee for nurses.