Harold Hitz Burton

“ The Court now holds that the Fair Labor Standards Act is applicable to employees of cost-plus-fixed-fee contractors irrespective of the ultimate liability of the United States under the contracts for whatever sums are recovered in these suits. ”

“ Without more specific provisions than this Act contains, we cannot interpret it as excluding, or as granting, authority to executive officers to exclude, employees in such plants from the benefits of the general wage and hour provisions which Congress has established in the Walsh-Healey Act and more fully and recently in the Fair Labor Standards Act. ”

“ The Government reserved large rights of supervision, auditing and inspection to be exercised through its 'Contracting Officer.' The employees, including the petitioners, were to be hired, assigned, directed, supervised, paid and discharged by the respondent. The contract stated expressly that all persons engaged in the work 'shall be subject to the control and constitute employees of the Contractor * * *.' It quoted all of the 'representations and stipulations' relating to employment directed by the Walsh-Healey Act. ”

“ The caution that general propositions do not decide concrete cases is particularly to be heeded in dealing with an enactment framed in terms of legal categories having diverse and conflicting contents. It begs the real question to purport to solve a particular problem merely by invoking such a category. ”

“ It prescribed also that no such employees be permitted to work in excess of eight hours in any one day or in excess of 40 hours in any one week, [18] that no male person under 16 years of age, no female person under 18 years of age and no convict labor be employed by the contractor, and that no part of the contract be performed or any of the material, supplies, articles or equipment be manufactured or fabricated under working conditions unsanitary, hazardous or dangerous to the health and safety of the employees. ”

“ Louis in maintaining a successful civic enterprise, and to our employees, for the establishment of working conditions conducive to the health and happiness of each man and woman employed in the plant.' It explains the financial basis of its cost-plus contract of management as follows: 'In the final analysis, your wages come from the United States Government, whose only source of income is taxes collected from you and all other citizens. ”

“ No provision of this Act or of any order thereunder shall excuse noncompliance with any Federal or State law or municipal ordinance establishing a minimum wage higher than the minimum wage established under this Act or a maximum workweek lower than the maximum workweek established under this Act, and no provision of this Act relating to the employment of child labor shall justify noncompliance with any Federal or State law or municipal ordinance establishing a higher standard than the standard established under this Act. ”

“ This purpose shines through the following clause in the contract in the Powell case: 'Whereas, The Government desires to have the Contractor, as an independent contractor on a cost-plus-a-fixed-fee basis, make all necessary preparations for the operation of said plant, including the training of operating personnel * * * but excluding the procurement and supervision of the installation of manufacturing facilities (to be done, under a like contract, by the contractor's parent corporation, Western Cartridge Company) ; and operate said plant ”

“ It exempted certain employees under § 204 of the Motor Carrier Act, 1935, 49 U.S.C.A. § 304, [20] but limited their exemption to the maximum hour provisions in § 7. It also exempted any employee of an employer subject to Part I of the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C.A. §§ 1-27. Sich specificity in stating exemptions strengthens the implication that employees not thus exempted, such as employees of private contractors under public contracts, remain within the Act. ”