Ferrer v. Waterman SS Corporation
| Decision Date | 08 March 1947 |
| Docket Number | 4034,4035.,Civ. No. 3741 |
| Citation | 70 F. Supp. 1 |
| Parties | FERRER et al. v. WATERMAN S. S. CORPORATION. TORRES et al. v. SAME. ALGARIN et al. v. SAME. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico |
Arturo Ortiz Toro, or San Juan, P. R., for plaintiffs.
James R. Beverley, of San Juan, P. R., for defendant.
Philip F. Herrick, U. S. Atty., of San Juan, P. R., for the United States.
These consolidated cases are before me on objections to the report filed by the Special Master. Both the United States and the Waterman Steamship Company have filed exceptions to the Master's report. I do not consider it necessary that these exceptions or objections be considered seriatim. Plaintiffs' case must fail if I conclude that the contention of the defendant as to rate of pay and classification of work be sustained. It is the contention of defendant that compensation during the so-called extraordinary hours for periods of work should be considered as overtime and that all overtime due should be compensated at one and one half times the so-called regular rate, the regular rate being work performed from 7 a. m. to 12 M. and 1 p. m. to 4 p. m. Defendant also contends that certain plaintiffs whose names appear in a motion filed by defendant on July 24, 1946 should be stricken from the complaint because of their failure or refusal to appear and identify themselves as the person or persons who are entitled to participate in such award of overtime pay as may be allowed.
In order to determine the issues involved a careful study of the contracts entered into between the parties should be made These contracts between the longshoremen's union and the several steamship companies arrived at by collective bargaining divide the work day into what is termed "the regular working day" and "extraordinary hours". One contract uses the term "overtime" instead of "extraordinary hours." It seems to me a distinction which has been suggested as to each of these terms is of very little importance. I am not concerned with the terminology used but to refer to extraordinary hours as "overtime" does not affect one's interpretation of the contract. Overtime really is properly considered as extraordinary hours. It means the hours worked after forty during any work week. A compensation or period of work may be designated as overtime but a consideration of the entire contract at the same time may show that it is not the overtime provided for in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U. S.C.A. § 201 et seq. I am bound to follow the act as interpreted by the highest court in the land.
Let us now examine somewhat in detail the contracts under which plaintiffs' claims are based. The issues in this case must be determined in accordance with the terms of the contracts. Dr. McCabe and Professor Taft have given us a very interesting and in fact fascinating discussion of the history of overtime compensation but their testimony cannot, in my opinion, aid in the solution of this controversy. It is unnecessary to attempt an analysis of all the contracts in evidence because they are as a rule identical. I have before me a contract which states that the regular working hours shall be from 7 a. m. to 12 M. and from 1 p. m. to 4 p. m. All other hours and holidays shall be considered "extraordinary hours." The designation of extraordinary hours is not material. Whatever may be the term used the fact is that the terms of the contracts force us to the conclusion that these are not the same as overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The same contract as well as all of the others provide specific and varying rates of pay for each hour of the working days, for holidays and for special noxious or difficult cargo, such as cement, fertilizer, creosoted lumbers, etc. I quote from the contract the scale of compensation agreed upon between the parties:
A study of the above table shows that it bears no relation to hours in excess of forty in any given week. It will also be observed that the hours for which the higher rate is paid are hours when most men would prefer to be eating lunch, or dinner, or at home asleep — in other words, disagreeable hours. These hours are compensated for at a higher rate in the same manner that "special" cargo is compensated for at a higher rate than "general" cargo. Holidays — of which a long list is included in the contracts — also are compensated for at a higher rate. Different rates in connection with "special" cargo are provided for work ashore and aboard. No one, I...
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92 Le 1502 Bay Ridge Operating Co v. Aaron Huron Stevedoring Corporation v. Blue
...differential as a shift differential. 28 This is well brought out by a case similar in character to this litigation. Ferrer v. Waterman S.S. Corp., D.C., 70 F.Supp. 1. There the wage schedule was as follows, 70 F.Supp. at page 3: GENERAL CARGO From To Work Days Holidays 7 A.M. 12 M.D.............
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Ferrer v. Waterman SS Corporation
...for overtime compensation and liquidated damages was rendered for plaintiffs in the total sum of $36,958.88. Ferrer v. Waterman Steamship Corporation, D.C., 70 F.Supp. 1. Thereafter, pursuant to a ruling by this Court, 76 F.Supp. 601, the defendant set up two special defenses under Sections......
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Aaron v. Bay Ridge Operating Co.
...as here, government counsel represented the employer and apparently advanced the very arguments advanced here. See Ferren v. Waterman S. S. Corp., D.C., 70 F. Supp. 1. We cannot agree with the argument that our conclusion is unsound because it may require separate computations for each week......