The Fair Labor Standards Act authorized the Administrator to investigate employment conditions in any industry subject to the Act. Newspaper publishers challenged this, arguing it violated the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. The Court held that the Fourth Amendment only guards against overly broad or indefinite demands, and that as the inquiry was authorized by law and the materials requested were relevant, there was no unreasonable disclosure. As the records sought were corporate, not personal, and relevant to determining if the publishers were subject to and complying with the Act, there was no violation of the petitioners' rights.
Descrição original:
Of Whatever Nature and for Any Purpose”, case digest
The Fair Labor Standards Act authorized the Administrator to investigate employment conditions in any industry subject to the Act. Newspaper publishers challenged this, arguing it violated the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. The Court held that the Fourth Amendment only guards against overly broad or indefinite demands, and that as the inquiry was authorized by law and the materials requested were relevant, there was no unreasonable disclosure. As the records sought were corporate, not personal, and relevant to determining if the publishers were subject to and complying with the Act, there was no violation of the petitioners' rights.
The Fair Labor Standards Act authorized the Administrator to investigate employment conditions in any industry subject to the Act. Newspaper publishers challenged this, arguing it violated the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. The Court held that the Fourth Amendment only guards against overly broad or indefinite demands, and that as the inquiry was authorized by law and the materials requested were relevant, there was no unreasonable disclosure. As the records sought were corporate, not personal, and relevant to determining if the publishers were subject to and complying with the Act, there was no violation of the petitioners' rights.
(Of Whatever Nature and for Any Purpose) FACTS: The provisions of 11(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, authorizing the Administrator to investigate conditions and practices of employment in any industry subject to the Act, and of 9, incorporating the provisions of 9 of the Federal Trade Commission Act authorizing the issuance and judicial enforcement of subpoenas, were challenge by the petitioners, contending that they violate the prohibitions of the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures or any other provision of the Constitution. Said law applies to business of publishing and distributing newspapers like the herein Petitioners. Respondent conducted an investigation pursuant to the above-mentioned law against the petitioners. ISSUE: Whether or not the Fair Labor standard Act violates the fourth amendment. HELD: No. The Fourth Amendment, if applicable, guards against abuse only by way of too much indefiniteness or breadth in the things required to be "particularly described," if the inquiry is one the demanding agency is authorized by law to make and the materials specified are relevant, the gist of the protection being the requirement that the disclosure sought shall not be unreasonable. There was no violation of petitioners' rights in these cases, since both petitioners were corporations; the only records or documents sought were corporate ones; no element of self-incrimination was presented or claimed; all the records sought were relevant to an inquiry for the purpose of determining whether petitioners were subject to the Act and, if so, whether they were violating it; and such an inquiry was authorized by 11(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.