Aeromotive Metal Products, Inc. v. W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor

Aeromotive Metal Products, Inc. appeals from a judgment in favor of the Secretary of Labor in an action brought under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. The judgment was on behalf of certain employees of appellant and is for unpaid wages and overtime compensation. The question is-whether a fifteen minute mid-morning rest period must be counted as hours of employment and paid for as such.

The rest period involved was originally instituted at the request of the employees at appellant’s Seattle, Washington plant in 1952. The year here involved is 1958-59. At the time that the employees involved were hired, they were given no choice as to whether to take the fifteen-minute uncompensated mid-morning rest period. It was a company rule that no productive work would be done during this period and that no employee would receive pay for this time. The plant was located in the industrial part of Seattle and the nearest commer•cial area was not within a fifteen-minute walking distance. Occasionally, employees would do personal errands, but this was not easy to do, and their homes were not accessible to them within the •fifteen-minute…