Evening star., 1947-02-17
Supreme Court Rules
Trainees Are Exempt
From Wage-Hour Act
BY The Assoeiaied Press

preme Court opinion today that the
court should pay at least some de-
ference to the customs. and contracts
of an industry" when ruling on
wage-hour cases.
Justice Jackson said the court
certainly should not apply the law
"to put industry and labor In legal
strait jacket of our own design"
His comments came in a con-
curing opinion wherf the high tri-
bunal unanimously upheld conten-
tions by two railroads that men who
take training for certain jobs are
not employees within the meaning of
the wage-hour law.
Justice Black delivered the court S
ruling. In addition to the con-
curing opinion by Justice jackson,
Justice Frankfurter wrote an opin-
ion agreeing with Justice Blacks
views.
Justice Jackson's words could be
interpreted to apply to the portal
to-portal pay suit. involving the
Mount Clemens (Mich.) Pottery Co.
He made no direct reference, how
ever, to the portal-to-portal case.
Affects Company Learners.
The decision affected certain
learners on the Nashville, Chat
tanooga & st. Louis Railway and
the Portland (Me) Terminal Co.
It was one of the comparatively few
times that the court has ruled
against contentious of the wage
hour administrator.
The Nashville Railway required
persons seeking jobs as switchmen,
firemen and brakemen to undergo
a training period as condition to
being placed on the employment
rolls. The Portland company had
similar arrangement fo-' 7'en sc~'--
ing jobs as yard brakemen.
The wage-hour administrator held
these trainees were co.,--,.
law requiring minimum pay OF 40
cents an hour.
The United States Circuit Courts
in Cincinnati and Boston decided
that the trainees were not. The
Justice Department appealed the
decisions to the Supreme Court,
asserting both circuit courts were
wrong because the trainees perform
the same duties as the regular en-
ployes.'
Formerly Paid Nothing.
The department said that before
December, 1943, the. Nashville Rail-
way paid nothing to cub" switch
men, firemen and brakemen. In
January, 1915, the company began
paying them S. daily. The depart
ment said the Portland company
now pays 81 daily for the training
period if the "cubs" become regular
employees. If they do not complete
their training they receive nothing.
The question, touched on by JUS
tice Jackson, that is paying defer
ence" to customs and contracts in
industry. was raised frequently in
objections to the Interpretation
placed on a Supreme Court decision
of last term, under which labor
unions filed suits approaching
St, 900 100000 against many COM
panies for portal pay.
While other justices did not ex-
press their views on Justice Jack
sons statement, none expressed dis
agreement with it.
Defines Employment.
Justice Black in the courts main
opinion said that the Wage-Hour
Act defines employ" as including
''to suffer or permit to work"
This definition" he said, was
obviously not intended to stamp all
persons as employees who, without
any express or implied compensa-
ton agreement, might work for their
own advantage on the premises of
another.
otherwise, all students would be
employees of the school or college
they attended, and as such entitled
to receive minimum wages"
Justice Black said that the trainees'
work in the case "does not expedite
the company business. but may, and
sometimes does, actually impede
and retard it"
Accepting the unchallenged find
ings here that the railroads received
no immediate advantage from any
work done by the trainees, we hold
that they are not employees within
the acts meaning"
In the Nashville, Chattanooga, st.
Louis case, the court did not rule
on the status of trainee clerks, rely
ing on a lower court finding that
for some years the line had been
complying with the wage-hour law
with regard to that class of men