Salt Lake Telegram | 1946-12-28 | Page 2 | Union Counsel Asks Caution in Demand for Portal Pay

NOW, ON THE OTHER HAND . . . Union Counsel Asks Caution In Demand for Portal Pay TOLEDO, .Ohio, Dec. 28 OR The lawyer who aet in motion the aerlea of employe overtime auita against manufacturers, now snowballed snow-balled Into an enormous sum, advised ad-vised uniona Saturday to proceed cautiously. Edward Lamb aald that the union leaders and their attorneys should not risk tough, restrictive action from congress by aaking "fabulous and reckless" amounts In the portal-to-portal pay suits. did nothing more than "define a work week." He added : Know 'the Rule "All Industry and labor should know what the rules are how. People need not be hysterical about It" The ruling upheld the Toledo attorney's contention in behalf of workers of the Mount Clemens (Michigan) Pottery Co. Lamb, who also ia a radio station sta-tion owner and newspaper publisher, pub-lisher, ! took the Mount Clemens case to! the U. S. district court in Detroit; June 16, 1941. He said he discovered in the company records "a very atrange demand on workers" a requeat for them to be on the Job 14 minutes min-utes ahead of official starting time with no pay mentioned for that extra time. He aaked an accounting account-ing and back wages, and the ault swung i back and forth through lower courts before reaching the supreme court iCaae Went Back Igh court returned its decision deci-sion June 6, 1946, and reaffirmed it Oct 14, then aent the case back to the! Detroit district court to determine how much money was due the workers. The supreme court held that overtime records must be kept by an employer, or the workers' own statements must be accepted; that all substantial time spent on the employer's premises at hla requeat must be paid for; and that uniona and individuals could sue for overtime over-time pay as far back as October, 1938, when the wage-houra act became; effective, provided that state statutes of limitations did not interfere.