Opinion of the Court 119 C. Cls. not a ruling or decision entitled to finality under Article XV of the contract and must be set aside. We hold that the bid price of $1.72 per unit for the supplemental materials was reasonable and that plaintiff is entitled to recover this sum for each of the 800 units in which the change was effected-a total of $1,376.00. Defendant's contention that plaintiffs' claim under this count is barred because of failure to appeal in time from the contracting officer's decision is without merit, because the contracting officer did not, until April 9, 1946, make a formal denial of plaintiff's claim based upon written findings of fact. Before this decision plaintiff had nothing to appeal from and, indeed, carried the case to the head of the department before a formal decision was ever made by the contracting officer. Count III of the petition has been abandoned. Plaintiffs have admitted defendant's counterclaim in the sum of $666.40. Interest on this amount from the date the indebtedness arose through overpayment by the Government of bond premium cost cannot be allowed. Standard Steel Car Co. v. United States, 67 C. Cls. 445. Through administrative decisions, plaintiffs have already received $15,381.94 upon the claim set forth in Count I, and this amount has been credited against the judgment entered herein. Judgment will be entered for plaintiff for $70,131.21, less $666.40 (the amount of defendant's counterclaim). It is so ordered. MADDEN, Judge; WHITAKER, Judge; LITTLETON, Judge; and JONES, Chief Judge, concur. Syllabus JOHN STUART KELLY ET AL. v. THE UNITED STATES [No. 49299. Decided April 3, 1951]* On the Proofs Suit for additional compensation for work performed on holidays by employees of Government Printing Office.-In a suit brought by 614 employees of the Government Printing Office to recover additional compensation for work performed by them on holidays during the period from September 1, 1943, to October 15, 1945, where the parties have stipulated the facts as to one of the plaintiffs only, John Stuart Kelly, and where it has been further stipulated that the decision on Kelly's claim will be determinative of all common questions of law and fact involved in the claims of the 613 other plaintiffs, it is held that plaintiff is entitled to recover. United States 39 (4) Same; per diem and per hour employees working on holidays.-The Government has two kinds of employees, those whose compensation is on an annual basis and those who are paid by the day or the hour. As to the per annum employees, when certain days were made holidays their pay was not affected. But the per diem and per hour employees lost their wages for the day off until special provision was made by statute that they should be paid for it. Pertinent to the claims of per diem and per hour employees of Government Printing Office, as applicable to the instant case, are 21 Stat. 304; 23 Stat. 516, as amended by 24 Stat. 644; and 28 Stat. 607. United States 39 (3) Same; stipulations as to previous practices concerning holiday pay.— The parties have stipulated that beginning with the Act of January 12, 1895 (28 Stat. 607), Government Printing Office employees were paid for holidays whether the holidays fell on what would otherwise have been a work day or not. It has been further stipulated that beginning about 1895 if a Government Printing Office employee worked on a holiday he received a regular day's pay in addition to the holiday statutory pay. This practice was followed until 1924 when under a negotiated wage agreement it was provided that employees required to work on a legal holiday should be paid at time and one-half the day rate in addition to their "gratuity pay" for the holiday as provided by law. United States 39 (3) * Defendant's petition for writ of certiorari granted October 8, 1951. Syllabus 119 C. Cls. Same; "gratuity pay" an inaccurate expression.-The word “gratuity" used in the agreement was inaccurate. It was not a gratuity for per diem employees to have a holiday off without reduction of pay, as in the case of per annum employees. Same; genesis of the Act of June 29, 1938.--The President by Executive Order excused all Federal employees from work on December 24, 1937 (Friday). Employees who had per annum salaries were paid without deduction for that day off but under a ruling of the Comptroller General employees paid by the day received no pay for December 24, 1937, since that day was not one of the eight holidays named in the statute giving such employees holidays with pay. In another decision to the same effect the Comptroller General pointed out that per diem employees, under then existing legislation, were often paid for holidays which occurred on Saturdays or Sundays when the employees would not have worked or been paid if the day had not been a holiday. To correct these manifest inequalities the Congress, on the recommendation of the Civil Service Commission, enacted the Act of June 29, 1938, which included, besides seven named holidays, "any other day declared a holiday by Federal statute or Executive Order," and provided that if employees were "relieved or prevented from working solely because of the occurrence of a holiday" they should nevertheless be paid. United States 39 (3) Same; legislative history of 1938 Act; intent of Congress.-In response to an inquiry from the Public Printer on August 15, 1938, the Comptroller General ruled that employees who would be required to work on Labor Day, September 5, one of the holidays named in the 1938 Act, would not be entitled to pay for that day in addition to the pay that they would receive if they did not work, saying that the former practice was forbidden by the Act of June 29. Pursuant to the Comptroller General's ruling, the plaintiffs, employees of the Government Printing Office, who have been required to work on holidays have received exactly the same pay as those who were not required to work. From the legislative history of the Act of June 29, 1938, and the origin and purpose of the Act as indicating the intent of Congress in its enactment, it is held that the Act did not deny to the plaintiff, Kelly, his right to holiday pay in addition to the pay earned by him when he worked on holidays. United States 39 (3) Same; wage agreement of 1924; interpretation of Section 23 of Act of March 28, 1934.-The Public Printer, as he had the power to 197 Special Findings of Fact do under the Act of June 7, 1924, made an agreement, effective October 27, 1924, with the employees of the Government Printing Office which provided that employees required to work on holidays should receive time and one-half for the time worked in addition to their "gratuity pay" for the holiday as provided by law, and the employees were so paid until the enactment of the Act of March 28, 1934. On April 9, 1934, in response to an inquiry from the Public Printer the Comptroller General ruled that under Section 23 of the March 28, 1934, Act providing that time worked beyond 40 hours in a week should be overtime and should be paid for at time and one-half meant that no time within the 40 hours could be paid for at more than straight time, even if it was worked on a holiday. It is held that the Comptroller General's interpretation of Section 23 was er Same; distinction between overtime pay and holiday pay.-The time and one-half pay for work on holidays had no relation to overtime. It was not "overtime" in the sense in which that word is used in industry nor in any sense in which it has been consistently used by Congress. Section 23 when enacted and thereafter had nothing to do with premium pay for holidays and did not invalidate the agreement which the Public Printer had with his employees. United States 39 (3) Same; laches.-The Government's contention that plaintiff's right to sue is barred by laches is not sustained. See Hearne v. United States, 107 C. Cls. 335, 400. Same; plaintiff entitled to recover overtime pay for holidays on which he worked. The plaintiff Kelly, having already received the equivalent of his statutory holiday pay, is entitled to recover, pursuant to the 1924 agreement, one and one-half times the day rate for the holidays on which he worked. The Reporter's statement of the case: Mr. Henry J. Fox for the plaintiff. Messrs. Posner, Berge, Fox and Arent were on the briefs. Mr. Kendall M. Barnes, with whom was Mr. Acting Assistant Attorney General Newell A. Clapp, for the defendant. The court made special findings of fact as follows, upon a stipulation entered into by the parties: Special Findings of Fact 119 C. Cls. 1. At all times material hereto plaintiff Kelly has been and is now a citizen of the United States of America. 2. During all or part of the period from September 1, 1943, to October 15, 1945, Kelly was regularly employed as a journeyman printer by the Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. 3. Kelly was employed by the Public Printer. His compensation was fixed by a wage agreement negotiated by the Public Printer and a committee of employees representing the journeymen printers of the Government Printing Office. This wage agreement was approved by the Joint Committee on Printing, and originally became effective October 27, 1924. It was entered into and approved under the authority of and pursuant to the Act of June 7, 1924, 43 Stat. 658, 44 U. S. C. Section 40. It was amended from time to time thereafter. 4. The wage agreement and amendments thereto referred to in Finding 3, at all times material hereto contained the following provisions relating to the rates of compensation for work performed on night shifts, Sundays, holidays, and during overtime hours: Night rate. Employees required to work on a regular night shift shall be paid 15 per cent in addition to the day rate for the time actually employed up to 8 hours. An employee whose regular shift consists of part day and part night hours shall be paid entirely at the rate provided for the majority of the time so employed. No employee will be granted extra pay for night work for which he is allowed overtime, Sunday, or legal or special holiday rates of pay. Sunday rate. Employees required to work on Sunday shall be paid 50 per cent in addition to the day rate for all the time actually employed on said Sunday: Provided, that employees whose regular shift begins on Saturday night shall be paid at the week night rate, and employees whose shift begins on Sunday night at the Sunday rate, for all the time actually employed on such shift. Holiday rate. Employees required to work on a legal holiday or a special holiday declared by Executive Örder shall be paid at the day rate plus 50 per cent for all the time actually employed in addition to their gratuity pay for the holiday as provided by law; holiday rate shall apply to all hours of a regular shift beginning |