Collins v. New England Iron Co.

• Decision Date: 07 March 1874
• Citation: 115 Mass. 23
• Parties: John Collins v. New England Iron Company
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

115 Mass. 23

John Collins v. New England Iron Company

Supreme Court of Massachusetts

March 7, 1874

Suffolk. Contract to recover of the defendant the sum of $ 39.00, a balance due the plaintiff for personal services as water-tender in the defendant's rolling mill, at Readville. Trial in the Superior Court before Putnam, J., who after a verdict for the plaintiff, allowed the following bill of exceptions:

"It was agreed that the plaintiff was hired for such services at the rate of two dollars per day, but the defence was that the plaintiff made a special contract at the time of the hiring by which he was to give two weeks' notice before the time of his leaving, or forfeit his wages; that the rules and regulations of the mill, which were to that effect, were shown to him at the time of his contract, and that he had forfeited his wages by voluntarily leaving the employ of the defendant without giving two weeks' notice and working out the same, as the said printed rules and regulations of the corporation required. Rules second and third were as follows, to wit: '2. All men employed in and around the mill will be required to give two weeks' notice. 3. If any person leaves without notice, it will be understood that he forfeits what money may be due him at the time of leaving.' It was admitted at the trial, that these were the rules and regulations at the time of the plaintiff's hiring, during the whole time of his employ, and also at the time of his leaving. The foreman of the rolling mill, who, it was agreed, hired the plaintiff, testified that he told the plaintiff at the time of the hiring, that if he should want to leave, he must give two weeks' notice before he could get his pay, and that this was assented to by the plaintiff as part of the agreement. It was also admitted that one copy of these rules and regulations was posted in the mill, in the pump-room, and one outside the pump-room.

"The plaintiff testified that no such contract was made by him that it was simply a hiring at the rate of two dollars per day, and that he did not leave off voluntarily, but that at one time when he called upon the agent for some money, he said to him that their rules were to pay on the tenth of every month, and that if he was not satisfied with that, he might go. The agent testified that at this interview he did not tell him that he might go, but that he told him then what the rule was about forfeiting his wages. This was two or three days before the plaintiff left.

"The plaintiff further testified on cross-examination that about a week or ten days before he left the employ of the corporation, he read the first few lines of the first rule of the printed copy that was posted in the pump-room where he worked; but that he did not read the second and third rules and knew nothing of them prior to the time of trial in the court below. The defendant'...