(a) The Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 was approved May 4, 1947. 1 It contains provisions which, in certain circumstances, affect the rights and liabilities of employees and employers with regard to alleged underpayments of minimum or overtime wages under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 2 the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act, and the Bacon-Davis Act. The Portal Act also establishes time limitations for the bringing of certain actions under these three Acts, limits the jurisdiction of the courts with respect to certain claims, and in other respects affects employee suits and proceedings under these Acts.
1 An act to relieve
employers from certain liabilities and punishments under the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938, as amended, the Walsh-Healey Act, and the Bacon-Davis
Act, and for other purposes (61 Stat. 84; 29 U.S.C., Sup., 251 et
seq. ).
2 52 Stat. 1060, as amended
29 U.S.C
201
et seq. In the Fair
Labor Standards Act, the Congress exercised its power over interstate commerce
to establish basic standards with respect to minimum and overtime wages and to
bar from interstate commerce goods in the production of which these standards
were not observed. For the nature of liabilities under this Act, see footnote
17.
For the sake of brevity, this Act is referred to in the
following discussion as the Portal Act.
(b) It is the purpose of this part to outline and explain the major provisions of the Portal Act as they affect the application to employers and employees of the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The effect of the Portal Act in relation to the Walsh-Healey Act and the Bacon-Davis Act is not within the scope of this part, and is not discussed herein. Many of the provisions of the Portal Act do not apply to claims or liabilities arising out of activities engaged in after the enactment of the Act. These provisions are not discussed at length in this part, 3 because the primary purpose of this part is to indicate the effect of the Portal Act upon the future administration and enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act, with which the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division is charged under the law. The discussion of the Portal Act in this...
