Biggs v. Joshua Hendy Corporation

183 F.2d 515, 1950 U.S. App. LEXIS 3688, 18 Lab. Cas. (CCH) 65,876
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedJune 28, 1950
Docket12257
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 183 F.2d 515 (Biggs v. Joshua Hendy Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Biggs v. Joshua Hendy Corporation, 183 F.2d 515, 1950 U.S. App. LEXIS 3688, 18 Lab. Cas. (CCH) 65,876 (9th Cir. 1950).

Opinion

ORR, Circuit Judge.

Appellants brought this action under § 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended, 29 U.S.C.A. § 216(b), hereinafter referred to as the Act, to recover overtime compensation allegedly due from appellee under § 7(a) of the Act, 29 *517 U.S.C.A. § 207(a) 1 Appellants were employed by appellee pursuant to the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement, the pertinent provisions of which appear in the footnote. 2 3 The trial court found that during the period here involved appellants, in addition to working the hours specified by the contract, were required by appellee to work through their lunch periods of one-half hour each day. The parties stipulated, and the trial Court found, that appellee did not compensate appellants for lunch periods. Appellant Hector and other plaintiffs below, not parties to this appeal, were awarded overtime wages for each lunch period worked on the day shift. Appellants were denied recovery, however, for the lunch periods worked on the second, or swing, and third, or graveyard, shifts. The Court gave as its reason for denying recovery, the payment to appellants of a half-hour premium per day on the swing shift and a one-hour premium per day on the graveyard shift, pursuant to paragraph 5(c) of the contract existing between the Union, of which appellants were members, and Joshua Hendy Corporation. This approach failed to give a proper construction to 29 U.S.C.A. § 207(a), which required payment for employment in excess of 40 hours per week to be at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which appellants were employed. The Supreme Court of the United States, in the case of Bay Ridge Operating Co. v. Aaron, 1948, 334 U.S. 446, 68 S.Ct. 1186, 92 L.Ed. 1502, defined the “regular rate” under this section as the total compensation received for any week, minus overtime premiums, divided by the total number of hours worked during the week. This definition assumes, however, that the total compensation received was in return for all hours worked as regular shifts. The regular hours of work in the plant at which appellants were employed was 7% hours on the swing and seven on the graveyard, exclusive of the half hour worked and to which appellants were entitled as lunch periods. On the swing shift appellants worked and were compensated for a scheduled 45 hours per week and, in addition, worked three hours during lunch periods for which no compensation was received, or a total of 48 hours. On the graveyard shift a scheduled 42 hours was worked and compensation paid therefor. They also worked three extra hours during lunch periods for which no compensation was received. Hence, on the swing and graveyard shifts the three uncompensated hours must be added to a workweek which, before such addition, totaled more than forty hours. Appellants are therefore entitled to overtime compensation for three extra hours worked each week, except to the extent that such overtime compensation is offset by overtime premium paid by appellee in excess of that required by the Act. In corn *518 puting such overtime compensation, consideration must be given to §§ 7(d) (6) and 7(g), 29 U.S.C.A. § 207(d) (6), <g), which were added retroactively by the amendments of October 26, 1949, 29 U.S.C. A. 216b. 3 Under § 7(d) (6), appellants’ regular hourly rate of pay on the swing shift should be determined by taking the total compensation paid for the normal 45-hour workweek, including the daily half-hour and 10% “shift premium,” subtracting the total half-time premium paid for work on Saturday, and dividing the result by 45, the total compensated hours on swing shift. Similarly the regular hourly rate on the graveyard shift should be determined by subtracting the total Saturday half-time premium from the total compensation paid for the normal 42 hour workweek, including the daily one-hour and 15% “shift premium,” and dividing the result by 42, the total compensated hours on graveyard shift. To compute the compensation due appellants for each week in which all lunch periods were worked, the regular hourly rate should be multiplied by three (weekly hours of lunch period), multiplied by one and one-half, which is the overtime rate. From the resulting product should be subtracted the amount of credit due appellee under § 7(g) for overtime premium paid in excess of that required by the Act.

On the swing shift, appellants were compensated for 45 hours. Of these hours, 7)4 were paid as overtime. The Act required only five of these hours to be paid as overtime. Therefore, appellee is entitled under § 7(g) to credit for 2)4 hours excess overtime premium per week. Since the overtime premium was one-half the regular hourly rate, the excess overtime premium was 2)4 x )4, or 1)4 tipies the regular hourly rate per week. The gross amount due appellants for each week in which they worked through lunch periods is the regular hourly rate times 3 times 1)4, or the rate times 4)4. Subtracting 1)4 from 4)4 leaves 3)4 times the regular hourly rate as the net amount due appellants for each week in which they worked through lunch periods on the swing shift.

On graveyard shift, appellants were compensated for 42 hours. Of these hours, 7 were paid as overtime. The Act required only two of these hours to be paid as overtime. Therefore, appellee is entitled under § 7(g) to credit for 5 hours excess overtime premium per week. Since the overtime premium was one-half the regular hourly rate, the excess overtime premium was 5 x )4, or 2)4 times the regular hourly rate per week. The gross amount due appellants for each week in which they worked through lunch periods is the regular hourly rate times 3 times 1)4, or the rate times 4)4. Subtracting 2)4 from 4)4 leaves 2 times the regular hourly rate as the net amount due appellants for each week in which they worked through lunch periods on the graveyard shift.

Of course, if part of appellants’ work during the weeks here in question were performed on Sundays or holidays, for which work they were paid double the regular hourly rate in accordance with the contract, the amount of credit due under § 7(g) would necessarily be adjusted accordingly. To illustrate the' proper meth *519 od of computation, assume an employee on the graveyard shift at a contract hourly rate of $1.50 per hour who has been compensated for the 42 hours of work per week, Monday through Saturday, as required by the contract but who has worked three extra hours per week during lunch periods without compensation. The overtime compensation due each week under § 7 should be computed as follows:

A. Regular hourly rate.

$1.50 x 8 = $12.00+15% premium = $13.80per day (straight time).

$13.80 x 5 = 69.00 (paid for IVEonday through Friday)

$13.80 x 1\/2 — 20.70 (paid for Saturday)

$89.70 (total weekly compensation)

Less $13.80 x y2 — 6.90 (Saturday premium, § 7(d) (6))

$82.80 (weekly compensation includible in regular rate under § 7(a))

$82.80 = $1,971 (regular hourly rate under § 7(a))

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Bluebook (online)
183 F.2d 515, 1950 U.S. App. LEXIS 3688, 18 Lab. Cas. (CCH) 65,876, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/biggs-v-joshua-hendy-corporation-ca9-1950.