Maximum Hours Laws and Attorneys

[Tom West]

This thread on maximum hours laws is revealing. It
exposes what some would regard as the hidden
paternalism and arrogance of those who would limit our
non-injurious choices for our own supposed good.

The older constitutional presumption (in Lochner, etc.)
was that everyone may work as much as he or she
wants, unless there is something injurious (to self or
society) in the work in question. This stems from the
Founders' notion, expressed in the Declaration of
Independence and many other founding-era official
documents (here is my comment on the Clarence
Thomas thread) that government exists to secure one's
"property" in the broad sense of life, liberty, and
possessions (both the right to keep and the right to
acquire through labor and voluntary exchange).

According to the implied logic of Darren Hutchinson's
post (summarizing the working conditions of a young
hot-shot lawyer at a top law firm), people who make
lots of money and have plenty of perks at work are free
to work as many hours per week as they want. Those
who make less money in less pleasant working
conditions are to be forbidden from working as many
hours as they want, even though they and their families
probably need the money a lot more than a well-paid
yuppie.

Michael Masinter's post says, "Lawyers, whether young
or old, are professionals, and, for that reason,
are exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair
Labor Standards Act." What is the logic behind this
distinction? Are "professionals" presumed smarter than
Joe Six Pack and therefore better able to look out for
their own interest without the helping hand of
government limitations on their right to contract? In
other words, some citizens are smart and can be given
liberty of contract. Others are stupid and therefore must
be "helped" by restrictions on their freedom.

By the way, "professionals" are not all paid as well as
Ivy League lawyers. At my own institution, beginning
assistant professors make a lot less than many trash
collectors do.

Tom West
Dept of Politics, U of Dallas