JEWELL RIDGE COAL CORPORATION v. LOCAL NO. 6167, UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA ET AL., 325 U.S. 161

Summary

An employer filed a declaratory judgment action against its employees' union and the union officials to determine if the time that the employees spent traveling underground between the portals of the employer's two bituminous coal mines and the working faces was included in the compensable workweek under § 7 of the Act, 29 U.S.C.S. § 207(a). The district court held that it did not, but the appellate court reversed. On certiorari, the court affirmed the appellate court's judgment and held as follows: The underground travel had the indicia of being work because it required physical and mental exertion that was controlled or required by the employer for the employer's benefit. The underground travel was different in kind from the above-ground work commute for the non-mining worker. The Act took precedent over any agreement or custom that excluded the travel time from the workweek. Therefore, the employees were entitled to be compensated for the time spent in their underground travels.