17 S.E.2d 115 | N.C. | 1941
This was an action to recover $27.50 alleged to be due plaintiff by reason of a sale or assignment to him of the wages of one of defendant's employees.
The action was instituted in the court of a justice of the peace, and upon appeal to the Superior Court was heard upon an agreed statement of facts. From this it appears that one of defendant's employees executed a power of attorney to one Rickman to sell his wages due and to become due in the sum of $27.50; that under this authority plaintiff purchased the employee's wages in that sum which was paid to the employee less a commission of $2.50; that upon presentation of notice of assignment, with copy of the power of attorney, the defendant refused to pay plaintiff, on the ground that the assignment was for wages unearned at the time of the assignment, and that the assignment not having been accepted by him he was not liable therefor, under the provisions of ch. 410, Public Laws 1935, as amended. The plaintiff contended that this statute was unconstitutional and was not available as a defense. It was conceded that if this Act is valid plaintiff's action against the defendant could not be maintained.
Upon the facts agreed the court rendered judgment for the defendant, holding that the Act in question was a valid exercise of legislative power. Plaintiff appealed. The plaintiff's appeal presents the question of the constitutionality of chapter 410, Public Laws 1935, as amended, which we quote as follows:
"No employer of labor shall be responsible for any assignment of wages to be earned in the future, executed by an employee, unless and until such assignment of wages is accepted by the employer in a written agreement to pay same."
The right of an assignee to sue in his own name upon an assignment of wages already earned by the employee and due by the employer was upheld inRickman v. Holshouser,
It is fundamental that the power of the General Assembly is limited only by the restraints imposed upon it by the Constitution of North Carolina or by the Constitution of the United States, and when it undertakes to exercise its power in the enactment of a statute, the validity of which is attacked, the courts will not adjudge the statute void on the ground that it is violative of a constitutional limitation unless it so appears beyond a reasonable doubt. "If there is any reasonable doubt as to the validity of the statute, such doubt will be resolved in favor of the validity of the statute." S. v. Brockwell,
The plaintiff challenges the validity of the statute in question upon the ground that it has the effect of depriving him of a property right without due process of law in violation of the constitutional guaranties contained in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, and that for the same reason the statute offends Art. I, sec. 17, of the Constitution of North Carolina. His contention is that his liberty of contract is so restricted by the statute as to constitute a deprivation of a constitutional right, in that he is not permitted to contract for the purchase of the assignment of an employee's wages to be earned in the future, enforceable against the employer, unless he secures the written acceptance of the employer and his agreement to pay therefor.
The privilege of contracting is both a liberty and a property right.Furniture Co. v. Armour,
But freedom of contract is a qualified and not an absolute right. The guaranty of liberty does not withdraw the right of legislative supervision, or deny the power to provide restrictive safeguards and reasonable regulations. Chicago B. Q. R. Co. v. McGuire, supra. Liberty of contract is not violated by legislation, operating as a deterrent, which restricts dealings which may become the subject of contract. "A statute does not become unconstitutional merely because it has created a condition of affairs which renders the making of a related contract, lawful in itself, ineffective." Bayside Fish Flour Co. v. Gentry, supra.
Undoubtedly the right to make contracts is subject to the power of the Legislature to impose restrictive regulations for the general welfare in matters affected with a public interest, and to prevent practices in business which are deemed harmful. Generally, the right to contract may be regulated as to form, evidence, and validity as to third persons. ChicagoB. Q. R. Co. v. McGuire, supra. In Alaska Packers Asso. v. IndustrialCom.,
The legislative power to impose reasonable restrictions upon the right of contract, deemed conducive to the public good, particularly as to contracts growing out of the relationship of employer and employee, has been upheld by the courts in numerous cases. West Coast Hotel Co. v.Parrish,
In many states statutes have been enacted imposing conditions upon the validity of assignments of wages to be earned in the future. These *297
statutes have been generally upheld as a valid exercise of the police power of the State. 5 C. J., 870; 6 C. J. S., 1067; 4 Am. Jur., 262; 37 A.L.R., 872 (Annotation); McCallum v. Simplex Elec. Co.,
The particular question, here presented, of the power of the Legislature to impose restrictions upon the assignment of unearned wages was considered by the Supreme Court of the United States in Mutual Loan Co. v. Martell,
That the statute inferentially permits the employer to signify his agreement to pay the wages to the assignee of his employee, if he chooses to do so, does not of itself constitute such a discrimination as would invalidate the Act, for unless restrained by some legislative prohibition one engaged in private business may exercise his own pleasure as to the parties with whom he will deal. Green v. Victor Talking Machine Co.,
Statutes enacted for the purpose of imposing wholesome and reasonable regulations upon the relationship of employer and employee, and to prevent practices deemed injurious to those engaged in labor and its employment, are generally held to be with the police power of the State. S. v.Lawrence,
For the reasons stated, we conclude that ch. 410, Public Laws 1935, as amended, does not contravene any constitutional inhibition, and that it was a valid exercise of legislative power. As the case was made to turn upon the validity of the statute, it follows that the judgment of the Superior Court must be
Affirmed.