Briefs before the New York State Court of Appeals in Joseph Tipaldo Minimum Wage Case
Collection Number: 5353
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Title:
Briefs before the New York State
Court of Appeals in Joseph Tipaldo Minimum Wage Case, 1933
Collection Number:
5353
Creator:
Bennette, John J.
Quantity:
0.5 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Briefs.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
Consists of the briefs filed with New York's Court of
Appeals and the United States Supreme Court by John J. Bennett, attorney general of
New York. Also included is A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK MINIMUM WAGE LAW CASE,
prepared by the Women's Bureau of the United States Department of Labor in 1936.
This pamphlet analyzes the social significance of the Tipaldo case.
Language:
Collection material in English
This case resulted in New York State's 1933 minimum wage law for women and children
being declared unconstitutional. Both New York State's Court of Appeals and the
United States Supreme Court found that a state may not regulate the wages of adult
women, because to do so would interfere with their freedom to contract, guaranteed
to them by the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution.
The case began when Joseph Tipaldo, manager of the Spotlight Laundry of Brooklyn, was
indicted by a Kings County Grand Jury on November 2, 1934, and charged with
"altering books and records for the purpose of concealing the failure to pay female
employees the minimum fair wage prescribed in a mandatory order of the Industrial
Commissioner of New York State." Tipaldo claimed the minimum wage law operated to
deprive him of his liberty and property without due process of law and compelled him
to be a witness against himself in a criminal case. The law required him to keep a
record of the wages paid to and hours worked by his women employees. Tipaldo sued
for a writ of habeas corpus in April, 1935. The writ was denied by Justice May of
New York's Supreme Court who found the 1933 minimum wage law to be constitutional.
Tipaldo appealed to the Court of Appeals and this decision was reversed. The United
States Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals decision.
This case resulted in New York State's 1933 minimum wage law for women and children
being declared unconstitutional. Both New York State's Court of Appeals and the
United States Supreme Court found that a state may not regulate the wages of adult
women, because to do so would interfere with their freedom to contract, guaranteed
to them by the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution.
The case began when Joseph Tipaldo, manager of the Spotlight Laundry of Brooklyn, was
indicted by a Kings County Grand Jury on November 2, 1934, and charged with
"altering books and records for the purpose of concealing the failure to pay female
employees the minimum fair wage prescribed in a mandatory order of the Industrial
Commissioner of New York State." Tipaldo claimed the minimum wage law operated to
deprive him of his liberty and property without due process of law and compelled him
to be a witness against himself in a criminal case. The law required him to keep a
record of the wages paid to and hours worked by his women employees. Tipaldo sued
for a writ of habeas corpus in April, 1935. The writ was denied by Justice May of
New York's Supreme Court who found the 1933 minimum wage law to be constitutional.
Tipaldo appealed to the Court of Appeals and this decision was reversed. The United
States Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals decision.
Also included is "A Brief History of the New York Minimum Wage Law Case," prepared by
the Women's Bureau of the United States Department of Labor in 1936. This pamphlet
analyzes the social significance of the Tipaldo case.
Names:
Tipaldo, Joseph.
Morehead, Frederick L.
Bennett, John J.
Spotlight laundry.
Subjects:
Wages -- Law and legislation -- New York (State)
Labor laws and legislation. New York (State)
Wages. Law and legislation. New York (State)
Wages. Minimum wage. Law and legislation. New
York (State)
Wages. Women. New York (State)
Women. Employment. Law and legislations. New York
(State)
Women. Employment. Law and legislation. United
States.
Form and Genre Terms:
Briefs.
Access Restrictions:
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a
reference archivist for access to these materials.
Restrictions on Use:
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet
and Procedures for Document Use.
Cite As:
Briefs before the New York State Court of Appeals in Joseph Tipaldo Minimum Wage
Case #5353. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives,
Cornell University Library.
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Container
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Description
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Date
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| Box 1 | Folder 1 | 1936 | |
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2 copies
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| Box 1 | Folder 2 | 1936 | |
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Subtitle: A Supplement to A Brief History of the New York Minimum Wage Case;
October 1936; 2 copies
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| Box 1 | Folder 3 | 1935 | |
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3 copies
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| Box 1 | Folder 4 | 1935 | |
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3 copies
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| Box 1 | Folder 5 | ||