Battery Maker Owes $22 Million After Justices Skip Wage Petition

A battery maker failed to convince the US Supreme Court Monday to weigh in on how to measure time spent on certain work tasks, leaving a $22 million wage verdict against the company in place.

East Penn Manufacturing Co. urged the justices to settle what it described as a circuit split, pitting appellate courts that use reasonable duration—the company’s preferred measurement—against those using actual duration to tally up paid time workers spend on pre- and post-shift tasks.

The US Labor Department, which filed the enforcement case against the company, said there’s no split to resolve because case-specific factual issues such ...