In Donovan v. Penn Shipping Co., Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court addressed a dispute over whether or not seamen were entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Secretary of Labor, Ray Marshall, acting on behalf of Peter J. Brennan and John T. Dunlop (collectively referred to as "Donovan"), argued that Penn Shipping Co., Inc.'s failure to provide its employees with overtime compensation was in violation of FLSA provisions. However, Penn Shipping contended that their workers fell within an exemption category for seafarers outlined in Section 13(b)(6) of the FLSA. The court ruled in favor of Donovan, stating that while there is indeed an exemption for sea-based workers from certain wage and hour requirements under section 13(b)(6), it only applies if they are employed by vessels engaged in foreign or interstate commerce - which wasn't applicable here since Penn's ships operated solely between points within a single state i.e., New York Harbor area. Therefore, these employees did not fall into this exempted category and should have been paid according to standard federal labor laws including receiving appropriate overtime wages.

In the dissenting opinion for Donovan v. Penn Shipping Co., Inc., the justice argued that the majority's decision to allow a seaman to recover damages under both maintenance and cure, as well as under general maritime law, was inconsistent with historical precedent. The justice contended that these two remedies were traditionally mutually exclusive; one could not claim both at once. Furthermore, they believed that allowing double recovery would lead to excessive compensation for injured seamen and potentially harm shipping companies financially. They also expressed concern about potential abuse of this ruling by unscrupulous plaintiffs seeking unjust enrichment through multiple claims for essentially the same injury or loss.