General Electric Co. v. Porter. Porter v. General Electric Co

Averille L. Porter brought an action under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended, 29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq., hereafter the Act, to recover on behalf of himself and fifty-five other employees overtime pay, liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees alleged to be due from employer General Electric Company, hereafter General Electric. Judgment was rendered in favor of plaintiff Porter and his assignors, hereafter referred to as the firemen, in the amount of $15,212.35 and $5,000 attorneys' fees. General Electric in its appeal contends that the employees were not covered by the Act. The firemen also appeal claiming they were denied the full amount of compensation to which they were entitled.

Four questions are presented for consideration: (1) Were the firemen here involved covered by the Act? (2) Did the trial court err in determining the regular hourly rate of pay and the amount of overtime compensation due the firemen? (3) Was it error to exclude sleeping time in computing work time com-pensable under the Act? (4) Were the firemen entitled to liquidated damages?

1. Applicability of the Act to the Firemen.

Defendant General Electric operates Hanford Works, a government owned plant…