Andrew Johnson, our 17th President, signs the first
For the working men and women of our nation - especially in the halls of government - this is a memorable day in the history of work and human resources! Did you know that on this day in 1868 the first federal law relating to an eight hour workday is enacted by Congress and was signed soon after by President Andrew Johnson? This law was highly beneficial to people such as postal employees when the United States Post Office was then a cabinet level government agency. The United States Post Office became an independent agency beginning in 1971 when Nixon signed the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970.
In the new work law that President Andrew Johnson signed, it stated in part that, "eight hours shall constitute a day's work for all laborers, workmen, and mechanics who may be employed by or on behalf of the Government of the United States."
Hundreds of eight-hour leagues formed coast to coast during and after the Civil War pressuring eight states to pass eight-hour day’s legislation and helping to persuade the U.S. Congress to create a law for federal employees in 1868. This worker formation inspired the NALC (National Association of Letter Carriers) in 1889. It’s easy to forget that not so long ago, workers had no protection to stop employers from enforcing 12 hour shifts, sometimes 7 days a week. If you could not keep up, you were fired. When the law passed, the Post Office interpreted it to mean 8 hours a day for 7 days a week- or 56 hours a week. The NALC sued the federal government and the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the union. It awarded the letter carriers a total of $3.5 million, settling thousands of overtime claims.
