United States v. Barringer

Background

A temporary employee of the Government Printing Office sued after the Office enforced a rule denying paid annual leave to temporary workers. The Court of Claims assumed the relevant statutes required annual leave and concluded temporary workers were entitled to a proportional share of leave after service, and when leave was denied they could receive money in place of the unused leave. The government appealed, and the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the leave laws actually cover temporary employees and whether a denied leave can be converted into extra pay.

Reasoning

The Supreme Court examined the statutes and appropriations beginning in 1886 and the later 1888, 1895, 1896 and 1897 acts, along with how the Public Printer administered them. The Court found Congress repeatedly reenacted the leave rules and that administrative practice excluded temporary helpers except a limited class who worked regularly on the Congressional Record. Because the statute language, appropriations, and long administrative construction did not support treating day‑or‑short‑term hires as entitled to annual paid leave, the Court reversed the Court of Claims and ordered the claimant’s petition dismissed.

Real world impact

The ruling means temporary hires at the Government Printing Office cannot claim paid annual leave or be paid in lieu of leave under the statutes reviewed. It leaves intact the Public Printer’s longstanding office rules and limits recovery to permanent employees who fit within the statutes and appropriations. Because the Supreme Court resolved the statutory question, the Court of Claims must dismiss similar claims by temporary workers unless Congress changes the law or makes a specific appropriation.