In the case of Bay Ridge Operating Co., Inc. v. Aaron et al., 1947, the U.S Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether or not certain employees were entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The plaintiffs were dock workers who loaded and unloaded cargo from ships in New York Harbor, but did not work on board any vessels. They argued that they should be classified as "seamen" under FLSA and therefore exempt from its overtime provisions. However, their employer disagreed, stating that since they didn't work aboard a ship or vessel, they weren't seamen according to FLSA's definition. The court ruled in favor of the employer by interpreting "seaman" narrowly as someone employed on a vessel for more than 50% of his working hours during a representative period; hence these dock workers did not qualify for this exemption because their duties were performed ashore rather than onboard any ship or vessel.

In the dissenting opinion for Bay Ridge Operating Co., Inc. v. Aaron et al., Justice Frankfurter disagreed with the majority's interpretation of "employee" under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). He argued that Congress intended to exclude certain types of workers from FLSA protections, including those involved in maritime activities such as stevedoring. According to him, these workers were not meant to be covered by wage and hour laws because their work was intermittent and irregular, unlike traditional employment relationships contemplated by FLSA. Therefore, he believed that longshoremen should not be considered employees under this act due to their unique working conditions and nature of work which is different from regular full-time jobs. In his view, applying FLSA standards would disrupt established labor practices in waterfront industries without clear congressional intent.