Until July 16, 1944, defendant paid his employees 92% cents per hour. Thereafter he paid 70 cents per hour for the first eight hours of any day or 40 hours of any week, $1.05 per hour for all additional hours in the first six consecutive days, and $1.40 per hour for any hours on the seventh consecutive work day. Both before and after the date of the change defendant was subject to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C.A. §§ 201-219), which re*450quired him to pay his employees one and one-half times the regular wage rate for any hours exceeding 40 in any week. It is undisputed that defendant was violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay overtime before July 16th and that the subsequent change in the rate of wages was not approved by the National War Labor Board. After plaintiffs learned that defendant had not secured the approval of the War Labor Board for the reduction in the rate of wages, they brought this action to recover the difference between the amount they had received and the amount to which they were entitled under the old rate together with liquidated damages and attorney’s fees as provided in the Fair Labor Standards Act.