Powell v. Washington Post Company, Civ. A. No. 1351.

• Decision Date: 01 October 1958
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 1351.
• Citation: 168 F. Supp. 41
• Parties: Diana K. POWELL, Plaintiff, v. The WASHINGTON POST COMPANY and James P. Mitchell, Secretary of Labor for the United States of America, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

168 F. Supp. 41

Diana K. POWELL, Plaintiff, v. The WASHINGTON POST COMPANY and James P. Mitchell, Secretary of Labor for the United States of America, Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 1351.

United States District Court District of Columbia.

October 1, 1958.

Diana K. Powell, Washington, D. C., for plaintiff.

George Blow, Washington, D. C., for Washington Post.

Oliver Gasch, U. S. Atty., Edward P. Troxell, E. Riley Casey, Asst. U. S. Attys., William Laverick, Washington, D. C., for James P. Mitchell.

CURRAN, District Judge.

The plaintiff, Diana K. Powell, was employed by the defendant, the Washington Post Company, as a part-time clerk until April 1958. In her complaint she alleged that the Washington Post Company discriminated against her and discharged her, in violation of Section 15(a) (3) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 215. She demands that the Washington Post Company reinstate her in adequate and suitable employment and to pay her such compensation from the time unemployed as this Court may deem just and proper.

Section 15(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act provides that:

"it shall be unlawful for any person * * * to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding, or has served or is about to serve on an industry committee."

A willful violation of this Section subjects the offender to a criminal penalty under Section 16(a) of the Act. Jurisdiction to restrain violations of Section 15 is conferred upon the District Courts by Section 17 of the Act. This Section reads as follows:

"The district courts * * * shall have jurisdiction, for cause shown, to restrain violations of section 15: Provided, That no court shall have jurisdiction, in any action brought by the Administrator to restrain such violations, to order the payment to employees of unpaid minimum wages or unpaid overtime compensation or an additional equal amount as liquidated damages in such action."

Section 11(a) of the Act provides, in part, as follows:

"Except as provided in section 12, the Administrator shall bring all actions under section 17 to restrain violations of this Act."

The authority of the Administrator was transferred to the Secretary of Labor in May 1950 under their Reorganization Plan No. 6. In this case the Secretary of Labor has not brought such...