In the case of Mitchell, Secretary of Labor v. Myrtle Grove Packing Co., 1955, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Secretary of Labor. The court held that employees who were engaged in crab meat processing at a plant located on navigable waters fell under federal jurisdiction and thus were entitled to wage and hour protections as provided by Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The company had argued that its workers should be considered seamen exempt from these regulations because they worked over water. However, the court found this argument unconvincing since their work was not directly related to navigation or commerce but rather involved stationary tasks performed on land-based platforms extending over water. Therefore, it concluded that such employees are covered by FLSA's provisions ensuring minimum wages and overtime pay.

In the dissenting opinion for Mitchell v. Myrtle Grove Packing Co., Justice Frankfurter, joined by Justices Burton and Harlan, argued that the majority's decision to extend federal wage-and-hour laws to employees of a crabmeat processing plant was an overreach of judicial authority. They contended that Congress did not intend for these laws to apply so broadly when it passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The dissenters believed this interpretation could potentially lead to absurd results where virtually any business activity could be construed as having some impact on interstate commerce and thus fall under federal jurisdiction. They emphasized that such decisions should be left up to Congress rather than being determined by courts' interpretations of legislative intent.