United States v. Kelly
Headline: Court affirms that per‑diem Government Printing Office workers who worked on wartime holidays must receive regular pay, fifty percent premium, and an extra day's gratuity pay under their wage agreement.
Holding: The Court held that a per diem Government Printing Office employee who worked on holidays is entitled under the wage agreement to regular pay, fifty percent premium pay, and the gratuity pay specified for holidays.
- Requires Printing Office to pay gratuity plus premium for holiday work.
- Affects claims of 613 other per diem Printing Office employees.
- Shows wartime directives did not cancel negotiated wage terms.
Summary
Background
Respondent was a per diem worker at the Government Printing Office who during World War II worked on certain holidays. The Court of Claims awarded him regular pay, a fifty percent premium for holiday work, and an extra day’s gratuity pay. The Government asked the Supreme Court to review whether gratuity pay should be awarded. The parties stipulated that Kelly's claim would determine claims filed by 613 other employees.
Reasoning
The central question was whether a 1938 Congressional Resolution that grants gratuity pay when per diem workers are "relieved or prevented from working" prevents a separate wage agreement from giving gratuity pay to employees who actually work on holidays. The Court explained the Resolution set which days qualified as holidays "as provided by law" but was silent about gratuity when work was performed. The wage agreement expressly promised regular pay, a fifty percent premium, and gratuity pay for those holidays. Nothing in the Resolution or the 1943 Presidential wartime Directive abolished that contract term, so the agreed gratuity remained enforceable. The Supreme Court therefore affirmed the award of gratuity pay.
Real world impact
The ruling requires the Government Printing Office to pay gratuity pay plus premium and regular pay to employees covered by the wage agreement. Because the parties stipulated, the decision governs claims by 613 other per diem printers. The Court rejected the Government's argument that wartime directives or the 1938 Resolution alone eliminated contractual gratuities.
Dissents or concurrances
Justice Reed, joined by the Chief Justice and Justice Black, would have reversed. He argued the 1938 Resolution covers only workers who were prevented from working, that administrative practice supported that view, and that no gratuity was "provided by law" when work was performed.
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