Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

184 Misc. 206

Kells v. Boutross

New York Supreme Court

Decided February 26, 1945

New York Supreme Court · decided 1945-02-26

Cited by 13 later decisions — most recently June 1958

12 state decisions

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“Title II — Wage and, Salary Stabilization Policy. 1. No increases in wage rates, granted as a result of voluntary agreement, collective bargaining, conciliation, arbitration, or otherwise, and no decreases in wage rates, shall be authorized unless notice of such increases or decreases shall have been filed with the National War Labor Board, and unless the National War Labor Board has approved such increases or decreases. ******* Title III — Administration of Wage and Salary Policy. ****** . No provision with respect to wages contained in any labor agreement between employers and employees * * *, which is inconsistent with the policy herein enunciated or hereafter formulated by the Director [Economic Stabilization Director] shall be enforced except with the approval of the National War Labor Board within the provisions of this Order. * * . In order to effectuate the purposes and provisions of this Order and the Act of October 2, 1942 [Stabilization Act of 1942], any wage or salary payment made in contravention thereof shall be disregarded by the Executive Departments and other governmental agencies in determining the costs or expenses of any employer for the purpose of any law or regulation, including the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942 or any maximum price regulation thereof, or for the purpose of calculating deductions under the Revenue Laws of the United States or for the purpose of determining costs or expenses under any contract made by or on behalf of the Government ”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Woodlawn Park Cemetery Co. v. Commissioner

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1945-02-26

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

Shientag, J.

¶1The action is by an employee to recover wages. The plaintiff moves to strike out the first and second defenses set up in the answer as insufficient in law. For the purposes of this motion the truth of the facts alleged in those defenses must be assumed. The defenses allege that the sum sued for represents an increase in wages promised by the employer, without the approval of the National War Labor Board. It is further alleged that the agreement for the increase was in violation of Executive Order No. 9250 (7 Fed. Reg. 7871), as amended by Executive Order No. 9381 (8 Fed. Reg. 13083), promulgated by the President of the United States pursuant to the Inflation Control Act of 1942 (U. S. Code, tit. 50, Appendix, § 961 et seq.); that the agreement is unenforcible; and that therefore the employee may not recover the amount of the unlawful increase.

¶2The violation of the statute and of the orders made pursuant thereto is made a criminal offense, punishable by prison or fine *207or both. The statute and the orders do not state specifically that an agreement madé in violation of their provisions is unenforcible; hence the plaintiff argues that the only penalty for violation is for the criminal offense. The plaintiff is wrong. The court will not draw any such subtle distinctions in construing statutes so directly related to the war effort. Any agreement for an unapproved increase in wages is illegal; it is contrary to public policy and is not enforcible in the courts. Those consequences are implicit from the very nature of the statute and the orders issued thereunder. Denial of the relief is in direct conformity with the requirements of public policy, and is a most appropriate individual punishment for violation. The employee is not deprived of his right to sue for the amount of his former wage. He cannot come into court, however, and recover the amount of the unlawful increase. To permit him to do so would in effect .amount to judicial sanction for the commission of what is made a criminal offense.

¶3The motion to strike out the defenses is accordingly denied. Settle order.

/184/misc/206 · .json · Public domain