Collapse to view only § 779.346 - Requirements for exemption summarized.
General Principles
“Establishment” Basis of Exemptions
- SECTION § 779.302 - Exemptions depend on character of establishment.
- SECTION § 779.303 - “Establishment” defined; distinguished from “enterprise” and “business.”
- SECTION § 779.304 - Illustrations of a single establishment.
- SECTION § 779.305 - Separate establishments on the same premises.
- SECTION § 779.306 - Leased departments not separate establishments.
- SECTION § 779.307 - Meaning and scope of “employed by” and “employee of.”
- SECTION § 779.308 - Employed within scope of exempt business.
- SECTION § 779.309 - Employed “in” but not “by.”
- SECTION § 779.310 - Employees of employers operating multi-unit businesses.
- SECTION § 779.311 - Employees working in more than one establishment of same employer.
Statutory Meaning of Retail or Service Establishment
Making Sales of Goods and Services “Recognized as Retail”
- SECTION § 779.314 - “Goods” and “services” defined.
- SECTION § 779.315 - Traditional local retail or service establishments.
- SECTION § 779.316 - Establishments outside “retail concept” not within statutory definition; lack first requirement.
- SECTION § 779.317 - [Reserved]
- SECTION § 779.318 - Characteristics and examples of retail or service establishments.
- SECTION § 779.319 - A retail or service establishment must be open to general public.
- SECTION § 779.320 - [Reserved]
- SECTION § 779.321 - Inapplicability of “retail concept” to some types of sales or services of an eligible establishment.
“Recognized” as Retail “in the Particular Industry”
- SECTION § 779.322 - Second requirement for qualifying as a “retail or service establishment.”
- SECTION § 779.323 - Particular industry.
- SECTION § 779.324 - Recognition “in.”
- SECTION § 779.325 - Functions of the Secretary and the courts.
- SECTION § 779.326 - Sources of information.
- SECTION § 779.327 - Wholesale sales.
- SECTION § 779.328 - Retail and wholesale distinguished.
- SECTION § 779.329 - Effect of type of customer and type of goods or services.
Sales Not Made for Resale
- SECTION § 779.330 - Third requirement for qualifying as a “retail or service establishment.”
- SECTION § 779.331 - Meaning of sales “for resale.”
- SECTION § 779.332 - Resale of goods in an altered form or as parts or ingredients of other goods or services.
- SECTION § 779.333 - Goods sold for use as raw materials in other products.
- SECTION § 779.334 - Sales of services for resale.
- SECTION § 779.335 - Sales of building materials for residential or farm building construction.
- SECTION § 779.336 - Sales of building materials for commercial property construction.
General Tests of Exemption Under Section 13(a)(2)
Sales Made Within the State
Computing Annual Dollar Volume and Combination of Exemptions
Engaging in Manufacturing and Processing Activities; Section 13(a)(4)
- SECTION § 779.345 - Exemption provided in section 13(a)(4).
- SECTION § 779.346 - Requirements for exemption summarized.
- SECTION § 779.347 - Exemption limited to “recognized retail establishment”; factories not exempt.
- SECTION § 779.348 - Goods must be made at the establishment which sells them.
- SECTION § 779.349 - The 85-percent requirement.
- SECTION § 779.350 - The section 13(a)(4) exemption does not apply to service establishments.
Engaging in Contract Telegraph Agency Operations; Section 13(a)(11)
Classification of Sales and Establishments in Certain Industries
Lumber and Building Materials Dealers
Coal Dealers
Ice Manufacturers and Ice Dealers
Liquefied-Petroleum-Gas and Fuel Oil Dealers
Feed Dealers
Monument Dealers
Frozen-Food Locker Plants
Automotive Tire Establishments
Commercial Stationers
Funeral Homes
Cemeteries
Automobile, Truck and Farm Implement Sales and Services, and Trailer, Boat and Aircraft Sales
Other Establishments for Which Special Exceptions or Exemptions Are Provided
Hotels and Motels
Motion Picture Theaters
Seasonal Amusement or Recreational Establishments
Restaurants and Establishments Providing Food And Beverage Service
General Principles
§ 779.300 - Purpose of subpart.
Subpart C of this part has discussed the various criteria for determining coverage under the Act of employers and employees in enterprises and establishments that make retail sales of goods and services. This subpart deals primarily with the exemptions from the Act's minimum wage and overtime provisions found in section 13(a) (2), (4), (11), and 13(b)(18) for employees of retail or service establishments. Also discussed are some exemptions for special categories of establishments engaged in retailing goods or services, which do not require for exemption that the particular establishment be a retail or service establishment as defined in the Act. If all the requirements set forth in any of these exemptions are met, to the extent provided therein the employer is relieved from complying with the minimum wage and/or overtime provisions of the Act even though his employees are engaged in interstate or foreign commerce or in the production of goods for such commerce or employed in covered enterprises.
§ 779.301 - Statutory provisions.
(a) Section 13(a) (2), (4), (11), and section 13(b)(18) of the Act, as amended, grant exemption from the minimum wage provisions of section 6 and the maximum hours provisions of section 7 as follows:
(1) Section 13(a)(2) exempts from minimum wages and overtime pay:
Any employee employed by any retail or service establishment (except an establishment or employee engaged in laundering, cleaning, or repairing clothing or fabrics or an establishment engaged in the operation of a hospital, institution, or school described in section 3(s)(4), if more than 50 per centum of such establishment's annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services is made within the State in which the establishment is located, and such establishment is not in an enterprise described in section 3(s) or such establishment has an annual dollar volume of sales which is less than $250,000 (exclusive of excise taxes at the retail level which are separately stated). A “retail or service establishment” shall mean an establishment 75 per centum of whose annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services (or of both) is not for resale and is recognized as retail sales or services in the particular industry.
(2) Section 13(a)(4) exempts from minimum wages and overtime pay:
Any employee employed by an establishment which qualifies as an exempt retail establishment under clause (2) of this sub-section and is recognized as a retail establishment in the particular industry notwithstanding that such establishment makes or processes at the retail establishment the goods that it sells: Provided, That more than 85 per centum of such establishment's annual dollar volume of sales of goods so made or processed is made within the State in which the establishment is located.
(3) Section 13(a)(11) exempts from minimum wages and overtime pay:
Any employee or proprietor in a retail or service establishment which qualifies as an exempt retail or service establishment under clause (2) of this subsection with respect to whom the provisions of sections 6 and 7 would not otherwise apply, engaged in handling telegraphic messages for the public under an agency or contract arrangement with a telegraph company where the telegraph message revenue of such agency does not exceed $500 a month.
(4) Section 13(b)(18) exempts from overtime pay only:
Any employee of a retail or service establishment who is employed primarily in connection with the preparation or offering of food or beverages for human consumption, either on the premises, or by such services as catering, banquet, box lunch, or curb or counter service, to the public, to employees, or to members or guests of members of clubs.
(b) Sections 13(a)(2), (4), (13), (19), and (20) of the prior Act granted exemptions from both the minimum wage provisions of section 6 and the maximum hours provisions of section 7 as follows:
(1) Section 13(a)(2) exempted:
Any employee employed by any retail or service establishment, more than 50 per centum of which establishment's annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services is made within the state in which the establishment is located, if such establishment—
(i) Is not in an enterprise described in section 3(s), or
(ii) Is in such an enterprise and is a hotel, motel or restaurant, or motion picture theater; or is an amusement or recreational establishment that operates on a seasonal basis, or
(iii) Is in such an enterprise and is a hospital, or an institution which is primarily engaged in the care of the sick, the aged, the mentally ill or defective, residing on the premises of such institution, or a school for physically or mentally handicapped or gifted children, or
(iv) Is in such an enterprise and has an annual dollar volume of sales (exclusive of excise taxes at the retail level which are separately stated) which is less than $250,000.
A “retail or service establishment” shall mean an establishment 75 per centum of whose annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services (or both) is not for resale and is recognized as retail sales or services in the particular industry.(2) Section 13(a)(4) provided the same exemption as it now does.
(3) Section 13(a)(13) provided the same exemption as section 13(a)(11) of the present Act.
(4) Section 13(a)(19) exempted:
Any employee of a retail or service establishment which is primarily engaged in the business of selling automobiles, trucks, or farm implements.
(5) Section 13(a)(20) exempted those employees who are now exempt from the overtime provisions only under section 13(b)(18) of the present Act.
(c) Employees who were exempt from the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements under a provision of the prior Act set forth in paragraph (b) of this section, but are no longer exempt from one or both of such requirements under the present Act must be paid minimum wages or overtime pay, as the case may be, in accordance with the pay standards provided for newly covered employment, in any workweek when they perform work within the individual or enterprise coverage of the Act.
“Establishment” Basis of Exemptions
§ 779.302 - Exemptions depend on character of establishment.
Some exemptions depend on the character of the establishment by which an employee is employed. These include the “retail or service establishment” exemptions in sections 13(a) (2), (4), and (11) and the exemptions available to the establishments of the character specified in sections 13(a) (3), (9), and 13(b)(8) (first part). Therefore, if the establishment meets the tests enumerated in these sections, employees “employed by” that establishment are generally exempt from sections 6 and 7. (See §§ 779.307 to 779.309 discussing “employed by.”) Other exemptions establish two criteria, the character of the establishment and the nature of the conditions of the employment of the particular employee. Such exemptions are set forth in section 13(b)(8) (second part), and section 13(b)(18) and (19). To determine whether the exemptions of these sections apply it is necessary to determine both that the establishment meets the enumerated tests and that the employee is engaged in the enumerated activities or employed under the conditions specified. Thus, under section 13(b)(18) some of the employees of a given employer may be exempt from the overtime pay requirements (but not the minimum wage) of the Act, while others may not.
§ 779.303 - “Establishment” defined; distinguished from “enterprise” and “business.”
As previously stated in § 779.23, the term establishment as used in the Act means a distinct physical place of business. The “enterprise,” by reason of the definition contained in section 3(r) of the Act and the tests enumerated in section 3(s) of the Act, may be composed of a single establishment. The term “establishment,” however, is not synonymous with the words “business” or “enterprise” when those terms are used to describe multiunit operations. In such a multiunit operation some of the establishments may qualify for exemption, others may not. For example, a manufacturer may operate a plant for production of its goods, a separate warehouse for storage and distribution, and several stores from which its products are sold. Each such physically separate place of business is a separate establishment. In the case of chain store systems, branch stores, groups of independent stores organized to carry on business in a manner similar to chain store systems, and retail outlets operated by manufacturing or distributing concerns, each separate place of business ordinarily is a separate establishment.
§ 779.304 - Illustrations of a single establishment.
(a) The unit store ordinarily will constitute the establishment contemplated by the exemptions. The mere fact that a store is departmentalized will not alter the rule. For example, the typical large department store carries a wide variety of lines which ordinarily are segregated or departmentalized not only as to location within the store, but also as to operation and records. Where such departments are operated as integral parts of a unit, the departmentalized unit taken as a whole ordinarily will be considered to be the establishment contemplated by the exemptions, even if there is diversity of ownership of some of the departments, such as leased departments.
(b) Some stores, such as bakery or tailor shops, may produce goods in a back room and sell them in the adjoining front room. In such cases if there is unity of ownership and if the back room and the front room are operated by the employer as a single store, the entire premises ordinarily will be considered to be a single establishment for purposes of the tests of the exemption, notwithstanding the fact that the two functions of making and selling the goods, are separated by a partition or a wall. (See H. Mgrs. St., 1949, p. 27.)
§ 779.305 - Separate establishments on the same premises.
Although, as stated in the preceding section, two or more departments of a business may constitute a single establishment, two or more physically separated portions of a business though located on the same premises, and even under the same roof in some circumstances may constitute more than one establishment for purposes of exemptions. In order to effect such a result physical separation is a prerequisite. In addition, the physically separated portions of the business also must be engaged in operations which are functionally separated from each other. Since there is no such functional separation between activities of selling goods or services at retail, the Act recognizes that food service activities of such retail or service establishments as drugstores, department stores, and bowling alleys are not performed by a separate establishment which “is” a “restaurant” so as to qualify for the overtime exemption provided in section 13(b)(8) and accordingly provides a separate overtime exemption in section 13(b)(18) for employees employed by any “retail or service establishments” in such activities in order to equalize the application of the Act between restaurant establishments and retail or service establishments of other kinds which frequently compete with them for customers and labor. (See Sen. Rept. 1487, 89th Cong. first session, p. 32.) For retailing and other functionally unrelated activities performed on the same premises to be considered as performed in separate establishments, a distinct physical place of business engaged in each category of activities must be identifiable. The retail portion of the business must be distinct and separate from and unrelated to that portion of the business devoted to other activities. For example, a firm may engage in selling groceries at retail and at the same place of business be engaged in an unrelated activity, such as the incubation of chicks for sale to growers. The retail grocery portion of the business could be considered as a separate establishment for purposes of the exemption, if it is physically segregated from the hatchery and has separate employees and separate records. In other words, the retail portion of an establishment would be considered a separate establishment from the unrelated portion for the purpose of the exemption if (a) It is physically separated from the other activities; and (b) it is functionally operated as a separate unit having separate records, and separate bookkeeping; and (c) there is no interchange of employees between the units. The requirement that there be no interchange of employees between the units does not mean that an employee of one unit may not occasionally, when circumstances require it, render some help in the other units or that one employee of one unit may not be transferred to work in the other unit. The requirement has reference to the indiscriminate use of the employee in both units without regard to the segregated functions of such units.
§ 779.306 - Leased departments not separate establishments.
It does not follow from the principles discussed in § 779.305 that leased departments engaged in the retail sale of goods or services in a departmentalized store are separate establishments. To the contrary, it is only in rare instances that such leased departments would be separate establishments for purposes of the exemptions. For example, take a situation where the departmentalized retail store, having leased departments, controls the space location, determines the type of goods that may be sold, determines the pricing policy, bills the customers, passes on customers' credit, receives payments due, handles complaints, determines the personnel policies, and performs other functions as well. In such situations the leased department is an integral part of the retail store and considered to be such by the customers. It is clear that such departments are not separate establishments but rather a part of the retail store establishment and will be considered as such for purposes of the exemptions. The same result may follow in the case of leased departments engaged in the retail sale of goods or services in a departmentalized store where all or most of the departments are leased or otherwise individually owned, but which operate under one common trade name and hold themselves out to the public as one integrated business unit.
§ 779.307 - Meaning and scope of “employed by” and “employee of.”
Section 13(a)(2) as originally enacted in 1938 exempted any employee “engaged in” any retail or service establishment. The 1949 amendments to that section, however, as contained in section 13(a)(2) and (4) exempted any employee “employed by” any establishment described in those exemptions. The 1961 and 1966 amendments retained the “employed by” language of these exemptions. Thus, where it is found that any of those exemptions apply to an establishment owned or operated by the employer the employees “employed by” that establishment of the employer are exempt from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Act without regard to whether such employees perform their activities inside or outside the establishment. Thus, such employees as collectors, repair and service men, outside salesmen, merchandise buyers, consumer survey and promotion workers, and delivery men actually employed by an exempt retail or service establishment are exempt from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Act although they may perform the work of the establishment away from the premises. As used in section 13 of the Act, the phrases “employee of” and “employed by” are synonymous.
§ 779.308 - Employed within scope of exempt business.
In order to meet the requirement of actual employment “by” the establishment, an employee, whether performing his duties inside or outside the establishment, must be employed by his employer in the work of the exempt establishment itself in activities within the scope of its exempt business. (See Davis v. Goodman Lumber Co., 133 F. 2d 52 (CA-4) (holding section 13(a)(2) exemption inapplicable to employees working in manufacturing phase of employer's retail establishment); Wessling v. Carroll Gas Co., 266 F. Supp. 795 (N.D. Iowa); Oliveira v. Basteiro, 18 WH Cases 668 (S.D. Texas). See also, Northwest Airlines v. Jackson, 185 F. 2d 74 (CA-8); Walling v. Connecticut Co., 154 F. 2d 522 (CA-2) certiorari denied, 329 U.S. 667; and Wabash Radio Corp. v. Walling, 162 F. 2d 391 (CA-6).)
§ 779.309 - Employed “in” but not “by.”
Since the exemptions by their terms apply to the employees “employed by” the exempt establishment, it follows that those exemptions will not extend to other employees who, although actually working in the establishment and even though employed by the same person who is the employer of all under section 3(d) of the Act, are not “employed by” the exempt establishment. Thus, traveling auditors, manufacturers' demonstrators, display-window arrangers, sales instructors, etc., who are not “employed by” an exempt establishment in which they work will not be exempt merely because they happen to be working in such an exempt establishment, whether or not they work for the same employer. (Mitchell v. Kroger Co., 248 F. 2d 935 (CA-8).) For example, if the manufacturer sends one of his employees to demonstrate to the public in a customer's exempt retail establishment the products which he has manufactured, the employee will not be considered exempt under section 13(a)(2) since he is not employed by the retail establishment but by the manufacturer. The same would be true of an employee of the central offices of a chain-store organization who performs work for the central organization on the premises of an exempt retail outlet of the chain (Mitchell v. Kroger Co., supra.)
§ 779.310 - Employees of employers operating multi-unit businesses.
(a) Where the employer's business operations are conducted in more than one establishment, as in the various units of a chain-store system or where branch establishments are operated in conjunction with a main store, the employer is entitled to exemption under section 13(a)(2) or (4) for those of his employees in such business operations, and those only, who are “employed by” an establishment which qualifies for exemption under the statutory tests. For example, the central office or central warehouse of a chain-store operation even though located on the same premises as one of the chain's retail stores would be considered a separate establishment for purposes of the exemption, if it is physically separated from the area in which the retail operations are carried on and has separate employees and records. (Goldberg v. Sunshine Department Stores, 15 W.H. Cases 169 (CA-5) Mitchell v. Miller Drugs, Inc., 255 F. 2d 574 (CA-1); Walling v. Goldblatt Bros., 152 F. 2d 475 (CA-7).)
(b) Under this test, employees in the warehouse and central offices of chainstore systems have not been exempt prior to, and their nonexempt status is not changed by, the 1961 amendments. Typically, chain-store organizations are merchandising institutions of a hybrid retail-wholesale nature, whose wholesale functions are performed through their warehouses and central offices and similar establishments which distribute to or serve the various retail outlets. Such central establishments clearly cannot qualify as exempt establishments. (A. H. Phillips, Inc. v. Walling, 324 U.S. 490; Mitchell v. C & P Stores, 286 F. 2d 109 (CA-5).) The employees working there are not “employed by” any single exempt establishment of the business; they are, rather, “employed by” an organization of a number of such establishments. Their status obviously differs from that of employees of an exempt retail or service establishment, working in a warehouse operated by and servicing such establishment exclusively, who are exempt as employees “employed by” the exempt establishment regardless of whether or not the warehouse operation is conducted in the same building as the selling or servicing activities.
§ 779.311 - Employees working in more than one establishment of same employer.
(a) An employee who is employed by an establishment which qualifies as an exempt establishment under section 13(a)(2) or (4) is exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Act even though his employer also operates one or more establishments which are not exempt. On the other hand, it may be stated as a general rule that if such an employer employs an employee in the work of both exempt and nonexempt establishments during the same workweek, the employee is not “employed by” an exempt establishment during such workweek. It is recognized, however, that employees performing an insignificant amount of such incidental work or performing work sporadically for the benefit of another establishment of their employer nevertheless, are “employed by” their employer's retail establishment. For example, there are situations where an employee of an employer in order to discharge adequately the requirements of his job for the exempt establishment by which he is employed incidentally or sporadically may be called upon to perform some work for the benefit of another establishment. For example, an elevator operator employed by a retail store, in performance of his regular duties for the store incidentally may carry personnel who have a central office or warehouse function. Similarly, a maintenance man employed by such store incidentally may perform work which is for the benefit of the central office or warehouse activities. Also, a sales clerk employed in a retail store in one of its sales departments sporadically may be called upon to release some of the stock on hand in the department for the use of another store.
(b) The application of the principles discussed in § 779.310 and in paragraph (a) of this section would not preclude the applicability of the exemption to the employee whose duties require him to spend part of his week in one exempt retail establishment and the balance of the week in another of his employer's exempt retail establishments; provided that his work in each of the establishments will qualify him as “employed” by such a retail establishment at all times within the individual week. As an example, a shoe clerk may sell shoes for part of a week in one exempt retail establishment of his employer and in another of his employer's exempt retail establishments for the remainder of the workweek. In that entire workweek he would be considered to be employed by an exempt retail establishment. In such a situation there is no central office or warehouse concept, nor is the employee considered as performing services for the employer's business organization as a whole since there is no period during the week in which the employee is not “employed by” a single exempt retail establishment.
Statutory Meaning of Retail or Service Establishment
§ 779.312 - “Retail or service establishment”, defined in section 13(a)(2).
The 1949 amendments to the Act defined the term “retail or service establishment” in section 13(a)(2). That definition was retained in section 13(a)(2) as amended in 1961 and 1966 and is as follows:
A “retail or service establishment” shall mean an establishment 75 per centum of whose annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services (or of both) is not for resale and is recognized as retail sales or services in the particular industry. It is clear from the legislative history of the 1961 amendments to the Act that no different meaning was intended by the term “retail or service establishment” from that already established by the Act's definition, wherever used in the new provisions, whether relating to coverage or to exemption. (See S. Rept. 145, 87th Cong., first session p. 27; H.R. 75, 87th Cong., first session p. 9.) The legislative history of the 1949 amendments and existing judicial pronouncements regarding section 13(a)(2) of the Act, therefore, will offer guidance to the application of this definition.§ 779.313 - Requirements summarized.
The statutory definition of the term “retail or service establishment” found in section 13(a)(2), clearly provides that an establishment to be a “retail or service establishment”: (a) Must engage in the making of sales of goods or services; and (b) 75 percent of its sales of goods or services, or of both, must be recognized as retail in the particular industry; and (c) not over 25 percent of its sales of goods or services, or of both, may be sales for resale. These requirements are discussed below in §§ 779.314 through 779.341.
Making Sales of Goods and Services “Recognized as Retail”
§ 779.314 - “Goods” and “services” defined.
The term “goods” is defined in section 3(i) of the Act and has been discussed above in § 779.14. The Act, however, does not define the term “services.” The term “services,” therefore, must be given a meaning consistent with its usage in ordinary speech, with the context in which it appears and with the legislative history of the exemption as it explains the scope, the purposes and the objectives of the exemption. Although in a very general sense every business might be said to perform a service it is clear from the context and the legislative history that all business establishments are not making sales of “services” of the type contemplated in the Act; that is, services rendered by establishments which are traditionally regarded as local retail service establishments such as the restaurants, hotels, barber shops, repair shops, etc. (See §§ 779.315 through 779.320.) It is to these latter services only that the term “service” refers.
§ 779.315 - Traditional local retail or service establishments.
The term “retail” whether it refers to establishments or to the sale of goods or services is susceptible of various interpretations. When used in a specific law it can be defined properly only in terms of the purposes and objectives and scope of that law. In enacting the section 13(a)(2) exemption, Congress had before it the specific object of exempting from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Act employees employed by the traditional local retail or service establishment, subject to the conditions specified in the exemption. (See statements of Rep. Lucas, 95 Cong. Rec. pp. 11004 and 11116, and of Sen. Holland, 95 Cong. Rec. pp. 12502 and 12506.) Thus, the term “retail or service establishment” as used in the Act denotes the traditional local retail or service establishment whether pertaining to the coverage or exemption provisions.
§ 779.316 - Establishments outside “retail concept” not within statutory definition; lack first requirement.
The term “retail” is alien to some businesses or operations. For example, transactions of an insurance company are not ordinarily thought of as retail transactions. The same is true of an electric power company selling electrical energy to private consumers. As to establishments of such businesses, therefore, a concept of retail selling or servicing does not exist. That it was the intent of Congress to exclude such businesses from the term “retail or service establishment” is clearly demonstrated by the legislative history of the 1949 amendments and by the judicial construction given said term both before and after the 1949 amendments. It also should be noted from the judicial pronouncements that a “retail concept” cannot be artificially created in an industry in which there is no traditional concept of retail selling or servicing. (95 Cong. Rec. pp. 1115, 1116, 12502, 12506, 21510, 14877, and 14889; Mitchell v. Kentucky Finance Co., 359 U.S. 290; Phillips Co. v. Walling, 324 U.S. 490; Kirschbaum Co. v. Walling, 316 U.S. 517; Durkin v. Joyce Agency, Inc., 110 F. Supp. 918 (N.D. Ill.) affirmed sub nom Mitchell v. Joyce Agency, Inc., 348 U.S. 945; Goldberg v. Roberts 291 F. 2d 532 (CA-9); Wirtz v. Idaho Sheet Metal Works, 335 F. 2d 952 (CA-9), affirmed in 383 U.S. 190; Telephone Answering Service v. Goldberg, 290 F. 2d 529 (CA-1).) It is plain, therefore, that the term “retail or service establishment” as used in the Act does not encompass establishments in industries lacking a “retail concept”. Such establishments not having been traditionally regarded as retail or service establishments cannot under any circumstances qualify as a “retail or service establishment” within the statutory definition of the Act, since they fail to meet the first requirement of the statutory definition. Industry usage of the term “retail” is not in itself controlling in determining when business transactions are retail sales under the Act. Judicial authority is quite clear that there are certain goods and services which can never be sold at retail. (Idaho Sheet Metal Works, Inc. v. Wirtz, 383 U.S. 190, 202, rehearing denied 383 U.S. 963; Wirtz v. Steepleton General Tire Company, Inc., 383 U.S. 190, 202, rehearing denied 383 U.S. 963.)
§ 779.317 - [Reserved]
§ 779.318 - Characteristics and examples of retail or service establishments.
(a) Typically a retail or service establishment is one which sells goods or services to the general public. It serves the everyday needs of the community in which it is located. The retail or service establishment performs a function in the business organization of the Nation which is at the very end of the stream of distribution, disposing in small quantities of the products and skills of such organization and does not take part in the manufacturing process. (See, however, the discussion of section 13(a)(4) in §§ 779.346 to 779.350.) Such an establishment sells to the general public its food and drink. It sells to such public its clothing and its furniture, its automobiles, its radios and refrigerators, its coal and its lumber, and other goods, and performs incidental services on such goods when necessary. It provides the general public its repair services and other services for the comfort and convenience of such public in the course of its daily living. Illustrative of such establishments are: Grocery stores, hardware stores, clothing stores, coal dealers, furniture stores, restaurants, hotels, watch repair establishments, barber shops, and other such local establishments.
(b) The legislative history of the section 13(a)(2) exemption for certain retail or service establishments shows that Congress also intended that the retail exemption extend in some measure beyond consumer goods and services to embrace certain products almost never purchased for family or noncommercial use. A precise line between such articles and those which can never be sold at retail cannot be drawn. But a few characteristics of items like small trucks and farm implements may offer some guidance; their use is very widespread as is that of consumer goods; they are often distributed in stores or showrooms by means not dissimilar to those used for consumer goods; and they are frequently used in commercial activities of limited scope. The list of strictly commercial items whose sale can be deemed retail is very small and a determination as to the application of the retail exemption in specific cases would depend upon the consideration of all the circumstances relevant to the situation. (Idaho Sheet Metal Works, Inc. v. Wirtz and Wirtz v. Steepleton General Tire Company, Inc., 383 U.S. 190, 202, rehearing denied 383 U.S. 963.)
§ 779.319 - A retail or service establishment must be open to general public.
The location of the retail or service establishment, whether in an industrial plant, an office building, a railroad depot, or a government park, etc., will make no difference in the application of the exemption and such an establishment will be exempt if it meets the tests of the exemption. Generally, however, an establishment, wherever located, will not be considered a retail or service establishment within the meaning of the Act, if it is not ordinarily available to the general consuming public. An establishment, however, does not have to be actually frequented by the general public in the sense that the public must actually visit it and make purchases of goods or services on the premises in order to be considered as available and open to the general public. A refrigerator repair service shop, for example, is available and open to the general public even if it receives all its orders on the telephone and performs all of its repair services on the premises of its customers.
§ 779.320 - [Reserved]
§ 779.321 - Inapplicability of “retail concept” to some types of sales or services of an eligible establishment.
(a) Only those sales or services to which the retail concept applies may be recognized as retail sales of goods or services for purposes of the exemption. The fact that the particular establishment may have a concept of retailability, in that it makes sales of types which may be recognized as retail, is not determinative unless the requisite portion of its annual dollar volume is derived from particular sales of its goods and services which have a concept of retailability. Thus, the mere fact that an establishment is of a type noted in § 779.320 does not mean that any particular sales of such establishment are within the retail concept. As to each particular sale of goods or services, an initial question that must be answered is whether the sales of goods or services of the particular type involved can ever be recognized as retail. The Supreme Court in Wirtz v. Steepleton General Tire Co., 383 U.S. 190, confirmed the Department's position that (1) The concept of “retailability” must apply to particular sales of the establishment, as well as the establishment or business as a whole, and (2) even as to the establishment whose sales are “variegated” and include retail sales, that nonetheless classification of particular sales of goods or services as ever coming within the concept of retailability must be made. Sales of some particular types of goods or services may be decisively classified as nonretail on the ground that such particular types of goods or services cannot ever qualify as retail whatever the terms of sale, regardless of the industry usage or classification.
(b) An establishment is, therefore, not automatically exempt upon a finding that it is of the type to which the retail concept of selling or servicing is applicable; it must meet all the tests specified in the Act in order to qualify for exemption. Thus, for example, an establishment may be engaged in repairing household refrigerators, and in addition it may be selling and repairing manufacturing machinery for manufacturing establishments. The retail concept does not apply to the latter activities. In such case, the exemption will not apply if the annual dollar volume derived from the selling and servicing of such machinery, and from any other sales and services which are not recognized as retail sales or services, and from sales of goods or services for resale exceeds 25 percent of the establishment's total annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services.
(c) Since there is no retail concept in the construction industry, gross receipts from construction activities of any establishment also engaged in retail selling must be counted as dollar volume from sales not recognized as retail in applying the percentage tests of section 13(a)(2). Also, since construction and the distribution of goods are entirely dissimilar activities performed in industries traditionally recognized as wholly separate and distinct from each other, an employee engaged in construction activities is not employed within the scope of his employer's otherwise exempt retail business in any week in which the employee engages in such construction work, and is therefore (see § 779.308) not employed “by” a retail or service establishment within the meaning of the Act in such workweek.
(d) Certain business establishments engage in the retail sale to the general public, as goods delivered to purchasers at a stipulated price, of items such as certain plumbing and heating equipment, electrical fixtures and supplies, and fencing and siding for residential installation. In addition to selling the goods they may also install, at an additional charge, the goods which are sold. Installation which is incidental to a retail sale (as distinguished from a construction or reconstruction contract to do a building alteration, or repair job at a contract price for materials and labor required, see § 779.355(a)(1) is considered an exempt activity. By way of example, if the installation for the customer of such goods sold to him at retail requires only minor carpentry, plumbing or electrical work (as may be the case where ordinary plumbing fixtures, or household items such as stoves, garbage disposals, attic fans, or window air conditioners are being installed or replaced), or where only labor of the type required for the usual installation of chain link fences around a home or small business establishment is involved, will normally be considered as incidental to the retail sale of the goods involved (unless, of course, the transaction between the parties is for a construction job at an overall price for the job, involving no retail sale of goods as such). In determining whether such an installation is incidental to a retail sale or constitutes a nonretail construction activity, it is necessary to consider the general characteristics of the entire transaction. Where one or more of the following conditions are present, the installation will normally be considered a construction activity rather than incidental to a retail sale:
(1) The cost to the purchaser of the installation in relation to the sale price of the goods is substantial;
(2) The installation involves substantial structural changes, extensive labor, planning or the use of specialized equipment;
(3) The goods are being installed in conjunction with the construction of a new home or other structure; or
(4) The goods installed are of a specialized type which the general consuming public does not ordinarily have occasion to use.
(e) An auxiliary employee of an exempt retail or service establishment performing clerical, maintenance, or custodial work in the exempt establishment which is related to the establishment's construction activities will, for enforcement purposes, be considered exempt in any workweek if no more than 20 percent of his time is spent in such work.
“Recognized” as Retail “in the Particular Industry”
§ 779.322 - Second requirement for qualifying as a “retail or service establishment.”
If the business is one to which the retail concept is applicable then the second requirement for qualifying as a “retail or service establishment” within that term's statutory definition is that 75 percent of the establishment's annual dollar volume must be derived from sales of goods or services (or of both) which are recognized as retail sales or services in the particular industry. Under the Act, this requirement is distinct from the requirement that 75 percent of annual dollar volume be from sales of goods or services “not for resale” (§ 779.329); many sales which are not for resale lack a retail concept and the fact that a sale is not for resale cannot establish that it is recognized as retail in a particular industry. (See Wirtz v. Steepleton General Tire Co., 383 U.S. 190.) To determine whether the sales or services of an establishment are recognized as retail sales or services in the particular industry, we must inquire into what is meant by the terms “recognized” and “in the particular industry,” and into the functions of the Secretary and the courts in determining whether the sales are recognized as retail in the industry.
§ 779.323 - Particular industry.
In order to determine whether a sale or service is recognized as a retail sale or service in the “particular industry” it is necessary to identify the “particular” industry to which the sale or service belongs. Some situations are clear and present no difficulty. The sale of clothes, for example, belongs to the clothing industry and the sale of ice belongs to the ice industry. In other situations, a sale or service is not so easily earmarked and a wide area of overlapping exists. Household appliances are sold by public utilities as well as by department stores and by stores specializing in the sale of such goods; and tires are sold by manufacturers' outlets, by independent tire dealers and by other types of outlets. In these cases, a fair determination as to whether a sale or service is recognized as retail in the “particular” industry may be made by giving to the term “industry” its broad statutory definition as a “group of industries” and thus including all industries wherein a significant quantity of the particular product or service is sold. For example, in determining whether a sale of lumber is a retail sale, it is the recognition the sale of lumber occupies in the lumber industry generally which decides its character rather than the recognition such sales occupies in any branch of that industry.
§ 779.324 - Recognition “in.”
The express terms of the statutory provision requires the “recognition” to be “in” the industry and not “by” the industry. Thus, the basis for the determination as to what is recognized as retail “in the particular industry” is wider and greater than the views of an employer in a trade or business, or an association of such employers. It is clear from the legislative history and judicial pronouncements that it was not the intent of this provision to delegate to employers in any particular industry the power to exempt themselves from the requirements of the Act. It was emphasized in the debates in Congress that while the views of an industry are significant and material in determining what is recognized as a retail sale in a particular industry, the determination is not dependent on those views alone. (See 95 Cong. Rec. pp. 12501, 12502, and 12510; Wirtz v. Steepleton General Tire Co., 383 U.S. 190; Mitchell v. City Ice Co., 273 F. 2d 560 (CA-5); Durkin v. Casa Baldrich, Inc., 111 F. Supp. 71 (DCPR) affirmed 214 F. 2d 703 (CA-1); see also Aetna Finance Co. v. Mitchell, 247 F. 2d 190 (CA-1).) Such a determination must take into consideration the well-settled habits of business, traditional understanding and common knowledge. These involve the understanding and knowledge of the purchaser as well as the seller, the wholesaler as well as the retailer, the employee as well as the employer, and private and governmental research and statistical organizations. The understanding of all these and others who have knowledge of recognized classifications in an industry, would all be relevant in the determination of the question.
§ 779.325 - Functions of the Secretary and the courts.
It may be necessary for the Secretary in the performance of his duties under the Act, to determine in some instances whether a sale or service is recognized as a retail sale or particular industry. In the exceptional case where the determination cannot be made on the basis of common knowledge or readily accessible information, the Secretary may gather the information needed for the purpose of making such determinations. Available information on usage and practice in the industry is carefully considered in making such determinations, but the “word-usage of the industry” does not have controlling force; the Secretary “cannot be hamstrung by the terminology of a particular trade” and possesses considerable discretion as the one responsible for the actual administration of the Act. (Wirtz v. Steepleton General Tire Co., 383 U.S. 190; and see 95 Cong. Rec. 12501-12502, 12510.) The responsibility for making final decisions, of course, rests with the courts. An employer disagreeing with the determinations of the Secretary and claiming exemption has the burden of proving in a court proceeding that the prescribed percentage of the establishment's sales or services are recognized as retail in the industry and that his establishment qualifies for the exemption claimed by him. (See Wirtz v. Steepleton, cited above, and 95 Cong. Rec. 12510.)
§ 779.326 - Sources of information.
In determining whether a sale or service is recognized as a retail sale or service in a particular industry, there are available to the Secretary a number of sources of information to aid him in arriving at a conclusion. These sources include: (a) The legislative history of the Act as originally enacted in 1938 and the legislative history of the 1949, 1961, and 1966 amendments to the Act pertaining to those sections in which the term “retail or service establishment” is found, particularly in the section 13(a)(2) exemption; (b) the decisions of the courts during the intervening years; and (c) the Secretary's experience in the intervening years in interpreting and administering the Act. These sources of information enable the Secretary to lay down certain standards and criteria, as discussed in this subpart, for determining generally and in some cases specifically what sales or services are recognized as retail sales or services in particular industries.
§ 779.327 - Wholesale sales.
A wholesale sale, of course, is not recognized as a retail sale. If an establishment derives more than 25 percent of its annual dollar volume from sales made at wholesale, it clearly cannot qualify as a retail and service establishment. It must be remembered, however, that what is a retail sale for purposes of a sales tax law is not necessarily a retail sale for purposes of the statutory definition of the term “retail or service establishment”. Similarly, a showing that sales of goods or services are not wholesale or are made to the ultimate consumer and are not for resale does not necessarily prove that such sales or services are recognized in the particular industry as retail. (Wirtz v. Steepleton General Tire Co., 388 U.S. 190.)
§ 779.328 - Retail and wholesale distinguished.
(a) The distinction between a retail sale and a wholesale sale is one of fact. Typically, retail sales are made to the general consuming public. The sales are numerous and involve small quantities of goods or services. Wholesale establishments usually exclude the general consuming public as a matter of established business policy and confine their sales to other wholesalers, retailers, and industrial or business purchasers in quantities greater than are normally sold to the general consuming public at retail. What constitutes a small quantity of goods depends, of course, upon the facts in the particular case and the quantity will vary with different commodities and in different trades and industries. Thus, a different quantity would be characteristic of retail sales of canned tomato juice, bed sheets, furniture, coal, etc. The quantity test is a well-recognized business concept. There are reasonably definite limits as to the quantity of a particular commodity which the general consuming public regularly purchases at any given time at retail and businessmen are aware of these buying habits. These buying habits set the standard for the quantity of goods which is recognized in an industry as the subject of a retail sale. Quantities which are materially in excess of such a standard are generally regarded as wholesale and not retail quantities.
(b) The sale of goods or services in a quantity approximating the quantity involved in a normal wholesale transaction and as to which a special discount from the normal retail price is given is generally regarded as a wholesale sale in most industries. Whether the sale of such a quantity must always involve a discount in order to be considered a wholesale sale depends upon industry practice. If the practice in a particular industry is such that a discount from the normal retail price is not regarded in the industry as significant in determining whether the sale of a certain quantity is a wholesale sale, then the question of whether the sale of such a quantity will be considered a wholesale sale would be determined without reference to the price. In some industries, the sale of a small quantity at a discount may also be regarded as a wholesale sale, in which case it will be so treated for purposes of the exemption. Generally, as the Supreme Court has recognized (Wirtz v. Steepleton General Tire Co., 383 U.S. 1900), both the legislative history and common parlance suggest that “the term retail becomes less apt as the quantity and the price discount increases in a particular transaction.”
(c) In some cases, a purchaser contracts for the purchase of a large quantity of goods or services to be delivered or performed in smaller quantities or jobs from time to time as the occasion requires. In other cases, the purchaser instead of entering into a single contract for the entire amount of goods, or services, receives a series of regular deliveries of performances pursuant to a quotation, bid, estimate, or general business arrangement or understanding. In these situations, if the total quantity of goods or services which is sold is materially in excess of the total quantity of goods or services which might reasonably be purchased by a member of the general consuming public during the same period, it will be treated as a wholesale quantity for purposes of the statutory definition of the term “retail or service establishment”, in the absence of clear evidence that under such circumstances such a quantity is recognized as a retail quantity in the particular industry. For example, if a food service firm contracts with a college to provide meals for the latter's boarding students for a term, in consideration of payment by the college of a stipulated sum based on the number of students registered or provided with meals, the services are being sold in a wholesale, rather than a retail quantity. If such a contract is entered into as a result of formal bids, as noted in paragraph (d) of this section, this would be an additional reason for nonrecognition of the transaction as a retail sale of such services.
(d) Sales made pursuant to formal bid procedures, such as those utilized by the agencies of Federal, State, and local governments and oftentimes by commercial and industrial concerns involving the issuance by the buyer of a formal invitation to bid on certain merchandise or services for delivery in accordance with prescribed terms and specifications, are not recognized as retail sales.
§ 779.329 - Effect of type of customer and type of goods or services.
In some industries the type of goods or services sold or the type of purchaser of goods or services are determining factors in whether a sale or service is recognized as retail in the particular industry. In other industries a sale or service may be recognized as retail regardless of the type of goods or services sold or the type of customer. Where a sale is recognized as retail regardless of the type of customer, its character as such will not be affected by the character of the customer, with reference to whether he is a private individual or a business concern, or by the use the purchaser makes of the purchased commodity. For example, if the sale of a single automobile to anyone for any purpose is recognized as a retail sale in the industry, it will be considered as a retail sale for purposes of the exemption whether the customer be a private individual or an industrial concern or whether the automobile is used by the purchaser for pleasure purposes or for business purposes. If a sale of a particular quantity of coal is recognized in the industry as a retail sale, its character as such will not be affected by the fact that it is sold for the purpose of heating an office building as distinguished from a private dwelling. If the repair of a wash basin is recognized in the industry as a retail service, its character as such will not be affected by the fact that it is a wash basin in a factory building as distinguished from a wash basin in a private dwelling house. It must be remembered that these principles apply only to those sales of goods or services which have a retail concept, that is, where the subject matter is “retailable.” See § 779.321. The “industry-recognition” question as to whether such sales are recognized as retail in the industry has no relevancy if in fact the goods and services sold are not of a “retailable” character, as previously explained. If the subject of the sale does not come within the concept of retailable items contemplated by the statute, there can be no recognition in any industry of the sale of the goods or services as retail, for purposes of the Act, even though the nomenclature used by the industry members may put a retail label on the transaction. (See Wirtz v. Steepleton General Tire Co., 383 U.S. 190; Mitchell v. Kentucky Finance Co., 359 U.S. 290.)
Sales Not Made for Resale
§ 779.330 - Third requirement for qualifying as a “retail or service establishment.”
The third requirement for qualifying as a “retail or service establishment” within that term's statutory definition is that 75 percent of the retail or service establishment's annual dollar volume must be from sales of goods or of services (or of both) which are not made for resale. At least three-fourths of the total sales of goods or services (or of both) (measured by annual dollar volume) must not be made for resale. Except under the special provision in section 3(n) of the Act, discussed in § 779.335, the requirement that 75 percent of the establishment's dollar volume be from sales of goods or services “not for resale” is a separate test and a sale which “for resale” cannot be counted toward the required 75 percent even if it is recognized as retail in the particular industry. The prescribed 75 percent must be from sales which are both not for resale and recognized as retail.
§ 779.331 - Meaning of sales “for resale.”
Except with respect to a specific situation regarding certain building materials, the word “resale” is not defined in the Act. The common meaning of “resale” is the act of “selling again.” A sale is made for resale where the seller knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the goods or services will be resold, whether in their original form, or in an altered form, or as a part, component or ingredient of another article. Where the goods or services are sold for resale, it does not matter what ultimately happens to such goods or services. Thus, the fact that the goods are consumed by fire or no market is found for them, and are, therefore, never resold does not alter the character of the sale which is made for resale. Similarly, if at the time the sale is made, the seller has no knowledge or reasonable cause to believe that the goods are purchased for the purpose of resale, the fact that the goods later are actually resold is not controlling. In considering whether there is a sale of goods or services and whether such goods or services are sold for resale in any specific situation, the term “sale” includes, as defined in section 3(k) of the Act, “any sale, exchange, contract to sell, consignment for sale, shipment for sale, or other disposition.” Thus, under the definition sales by an establishment to a competitor are regarded as sales for resale even though made without profit. (Northwestern-Hanna Fuel Co. v. McComb, 166 F. 2d 932 (CA-8).) Similarly, sales for distribution by the purchaser for business purposes are sales for resale under the “other disposition” language of the definition of “sale” even though distributed at no cost to the ultimate recipient. (See Mitchell v. Duplicate Photo Service, 13 WH Cases 71, 31 L.C. Par. 70,287 (S.D. Cal. 1956) accord, Mitchell v. Sherry Corine Corporation, 264 F. 2d 831 (CA-4) (sale of meals to airlines for distribution to their passengers).) It should be noted, however, that occasional transfer of goods from the stock of one retail or service establishment to relieve a shortage in another such establishment under the same ownership will not be considered as sales for resale.
§ 779.332 - Resale of goods in an altered form or as parts or ingredients of other goods or services.
Sale for resale includes the sale of goods which will be resold in their original form, in an altered form, or as a part or ingredient of another article. A sale of goods which the seller knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, will be resold after processing or manufacture is a sale for resale. Thus, sales of parts with the expectation that they will be incorporated in aircraft and that the aircraft will be sold clearly are sales for resale. (Arnold v. Ben Kanowsky, Inc., 361 U.S. 388.) Similarly, the sale of lumber to furniture or box factories, or the sale of textiles to clothing manufacturers, is a sale for resale even though the goods are resold in the form of furniture or clothing. The principle is also illustrated in cases where the article sold becomes a part or an ingredient of another, such as scrap metal in steel, dyes in fabrics, flour in bread and pastries, and salt in food or ice in beverages. (Mitchell v. Douglas Auto Parts Co., 11 WH Cases 807, 25 L.C. Par. 68, 119 (N.D. Ill., 1954).) The fact that goods sold will be resold as a part of a service in which they are used or as a part of a building into which they are incorporated does not negate the character of the sale as one “for resale.” (Mitchell v. Furman Beauty Supply, 300 F. 2d 16 (CA-3); Mayol v. Mitchell, 280 F. 2d 477 (CA-1), cert. denied 364 U.S. 902; Goldberg v. Kleban Eng. Corp., 303 F. 2d 855 (CA-5).)
§ 779.333 - Goods sold for use as raw materials in other products.
Goods are sold for resale where they are sold for use as a raw material in the production of a specific product to be sold, such as sales of coal for the production of coke, coal gas, or electricity, or sales of liquefied-petroleum-gas for the production of chemicals or synthetic rubber. However, the goods are not considered sold for resale if sold for general industrial or commercial uses, such as coal for use in laundries, bakeries, nurseries, canneries, or for space heating, or ice for use by grocery stores or meat markets in cooling and preserving groceries and meat to be sold. Similarly, ice used for cooling soft drinks while in storage will not be considered sold for resale. On the other hand, ice or ice cubes sold for serving soft drinks or other beverages will be considered as sales for resale.
§ 779.334 - Sales of services for resale.
The same principles apply in the case of sales of services for resale. A sale of services where the seller knows or has reasonable cause to believe will be resold is a sale for resale. Where, for example, an establishment reconditions and repairs watches for retail jewelers who resell the services to their own customers, the services constitute a sale for resale. Where a garage repairs automobiles for a secondhand automobile dealer with the knowledge or reasonable cause to believe that the automobile on which the work is performed will be sold, the service performed by the garage is a sale for resale. The services performed by a dental laboratory in the making of artificial teeth for the dentist for the use of his patients is a sale of services (as well as of goods) for resale. The services of a fur repair and storage establishment performed for other establishments who sell these services to their own customers, constitute sales for resale. As in the case of the sale of goods, in certain circumstances, sales of services to a business for a specific use in performing a different service which such business renders to its own customers are in economic effect sales for resale as a part of the service that the purchaser in turn sells to his customers, even though such services are consumed in the process of performance of the latter service. For example, if a storage establishment uses mothproofing services in order to render satisfactory storage services for its customers, the sale of such mothproofing services to that storage establishment will be considered a sale for resale.
§ 779.335 - Sales of building materials for residential or farm building construction.
Section 3(n) of the Act, as amended, excludes from the category of sales for resale “the sale of goods to be used in residential or farm building construction, repair or maintenance: Provided, That the sale is recognized as a bona fide retail sale in the industry.” Under this section a sale of building materials to a building contractor or a builder for use in residential or farm building, repair or maintenance is not a sale for resale, provided, the sale is otherwise recognized as a bona fide retail sale in the industry. If the sale is not so recognized it will be considered a sale for resale. Thus, only bona fide retail sales of building materials to a building contractor or a builder for the uses described would be taken out of the category of sales for resale. (Sucrs. De A. Mayol & Co. v. Mitchell, 280 F. 2d 477 (CA-1); Elder v. Phillips & Buttroff Mfg. Co., 23 L.C. Par. 67,524 (Tenn., 1958).) The legislative history of the amendment indicates that it is not the intent of its sponsors to remove from the category of sales for resale such sales, for example, as sales of lumber to a contractor to build a whole residential subdivision. (See 95 Cong. Rec. 12533-12535; Sen. St. ibid; 14877.)
§ 779.336 - Sales of building materials for commercial property construction.
Sales of building materials to a contractor or speculative builder for the construction, maintenance or repair of commercial property or any other property not excepted in section 3(n) of the Act, as explained above, will be considered as sales for resale. (See §§ 779.332 and 779.335.) Some employers who are dealers in building materials are also engaged in the business of building contractors or speculative builders. Building materials for the carrying on of the employer's contracting or speculative building business often are supplied by the employer himself from or through his building materials establishment. In the analysis of the sales of the building materials establishment for the purpose of determining the qualification of such establishment as a “retail or service establishment” all transfers of stock made by the employer from or through his building materials establishment to his building business for the construction, maintenance or repair of commercial property or any other property not excepted in section 3 (n) of the Act will be considered as sales made by such establishment for resale.
General Tests of Exemption Under Section 13(a)(2)
§ 779.337 - Requirements of exemption summarized.
(a) An establishment which is a “retail or service establishment” within the Act's statutory definition of that term (See discussion in §§ 779.312 to 779.336) must, to qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act (See § 779.301), meet both of the following tests:
(1) More than 50 percent of the retail or service establishment's total annual dollar volume of sales must be derived from sales of goods or services (or both) which are made within the State in which the establishment is located; and
(2) Either:
(i) The retail or service establishment must not be in an enterprise of the type described in section 3(s), or
(ii) If the retail or service establishment is in an enterprise of the type described in 3(s), it has an annual volume of sales (exclusive of excise taxes at the retail level which are separately stated) of less than $250,000.
(b) The language of the statute in section 13(a)(2) expressly excludes from the exemption an establishment or employee engaged in laundering, cleaning, or repairing clothing or fabrics or an establishment engaged in the operation of a hospital, institution, or school described in section 3(s)(4) of the Act. No exemption for these is provided under this section even if the establishment meets the tests set forth in paragraph (a) of this section. (See § 779.338(b).) With respect to laundering and drycleaning establishments, which Congress found to lack a retail concept (See § 779.317) and had provided with a separate exemption in former section 13(a)(3) of the Act, repealed by the 1966 amendments, this exclusion simply clarifies the congressional intent to cover employees in such work under section 3(s)(2) of the present Act and to make sure that no exemption under 13(a)(2) will be construed so as to defeat the purpose of repealing the prior special exemption.
§ 779.338 - Effect of 1961 and 1966 amendments.
(a) The 1961 amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act narrowed the exemption for retail or service establishments by permitting section 13(a)(2) to be applied only to an establishment which was not in a covered enterprise, or (if it was in such an enterprise) which had an annual gross volume of sales of less than $250,000 (exclusive of specified taxes). There were certain exemptions to this general principle. These exceptions were set out in section 13(a)(2)(ii) and (iii). The establishments enumerated therein were exempt whether or not they were in a covered enterprise and regardless of the annual dollar volume of sales. They were: Hotels, motels, restaurants, motion picture theaters, seasonally operated amusement or recreational establishments, hospitals, institutions primarily engaged in the care of the sick, the aged, the mentally ill or defective residing on the premises of the institution, and schools for physically or mentally handicapped or gifted children. These establishments were exempt if they met the basic 50 percent in State sales test and the 75 percent retail sales test of section 13(a)(2). The 1966 amendments to the Act repealed sections 13(a)(2)(ii) and (iii). Now to be exempt under section 13(a)(2) hotels, motels, and restaurants must meet the same tests as other retail or service establishments (see § 779.337). Seasonal amusement or recreational establishments and motion picture theaters now have special exemptions from both the minimum wage and overtime pay provisions of the Act as provided by the 1966 amendments in sections 13(a)(3) and 13(a)(9) respectively.
(b) Certain establishments which were previously exempt under section 13(a)(2) prior to the 1966 amendments have been specifically excluded from this exemption as a result of the amendments, even though they may still qualify as retail or service establishments under the definition of such an establishment in that section. These are hospitals, institutions primarily engaged in the care of the sick, the aged, the mentally ill or defective residing on the premises of the institution, and schools for physically or mentally handicapped or gifted children. However, such institutions have been recognized as having a retail concept and where the nature of their operations has not changed and where they otherwise satisfy the Act's definition of a “retail or service establishment”, certain food service employees employed by such institutions will be considered to be exempt from the Act's overtime pay provisions under section 13(b)(18), exemptions for their administrative or executive employees will not be defeated by nonexempt work occupying less than 40 percent of the employee's time, and full-time students may be employed in accordance with the special minimum wage provisions of section 14 of the Act and part 519 of this chapter.
Sales Made Within the State
§ 779.339 - More than 50 percent intrastate sales required.
The first test specified in section 13 (a)(2) is that more than 50 percent of the sales of goods or of services (or of both) of a “retail or service establishment” (Measured by annual dollar volume) must be made “within the State in which the establishment is located”. This limitation means that such establishment must be primarily engaged (more than 50 percent) in selling to or serving customers within its State. If the establishment is engaged to the extent of 50 percent or more in selling to or serving customers outside the State of its location, the requirement is not met and the establishment cannot qualify for exemption.
§ 779.340 - Out-of-State customers.
Whether the sale or service is made to an out-of-State customer is a question of fact. In order for a customer to be considered an out-of-State customer, some specific relationship between him and the seller has to exist to indicate his out-of-State character. Sales made to the casual cash-and-carry customer of a retail or service establishment, who, for all practical purposes, is indistinguishable from the mass of customers who visit the establishment, are sales made within the State even though the seller knows or has reason to believe, because of his proximity to the State line or because he is frequented by tourists, that some of the customers who visit his establishment reside outside the State. If the customer is of that type, sales made to him are sales made within the State even if the seller knows in the particular instance that the customer resides outside the State. On the other hand, a sale is made to an out-of-State customer and, therefore, is not a sale made “within the State” in which the establishment is located, if delivery of the goods is made outside the State. It should be noted that sales of goods or services that are conditioned upon acceptance or rejection by an out-of-State source are interstates sales and not sales made within the State for purposes of section 13(a)(2). For example, a contract entered into in the State where the customer resides for the delivery of a magazine to the customer's residence, is an interstate sale if the contract must be approved by the out-of-State home office of the company publishing the magazine before it becomes effective.
§ 779.341 - Sales “made within the State” and “engagement in commerce” distinguished.
Sales to customers located in the same State as the establishment are sales made “within the State” even though such sales may constitute engagement in interstate commerce as where the sale: (a) Is made pursuant to prior orders from customers for goods to be obtained from outside the State; (b) contemplates the purchase of goods from outside the State to fill a customer's order; or (c) is made to a customer for use in interstate commerce or in production of goods for such commerce.
Computing Annual Dollar Volume and Combination of Exemptions
§ 779.342 - Methods of computing annual volume of sales.
The tests as to whether an establishment qualifies for exemption under section 13(a)(2) of the Act are specified in terms of the “annual dollar volume of sales” of goods or of services (or both) and percentages thereof. The “annual dollar volume of sales” of an establishment consists of the gross receipts from all sales of the establishment during a 12-month period. The methods of computing it for purposes of determining whether the establishment qualifies under the tests of the exemption are the same as the methods of calculating whether the annual gross volume of sales or business of an enterprise or an establishment meets the statutory dollar tests for coverage. These are discussed in §§ 779.265 to 779.269. However, for purposes of the exemption tests the specified percentages are based on annual dollar volume before deduction of those taxes which are excluded in determining whether the $250,000 test is met. The exemption tests are in terms of the annual dollar volume of the establishment. This will include dollar volume from transactions with other establishments in the same enterprise, even though such transactions within an enterprise may not be part of the annual gross volume of the enterprise's sales made or business done (see § 779.259).
§ 779.343 - Combinations of exemptions.
(a) An employee may be engaged in a particular workweek in two or more types of activities for each of which a specific exemption is provided by the Act. The combined work of the employee during such a workweek may not satisfy the requirements of either exemption. It is not the intent of the Act, however, that an exemption based on the performance of one exempt activity should be defeated by the performance of another activity which has been made the basis of an equivalent exemption under another provision of the Act. Thus, where an employee during a particular workweek is exclusively engaged in performing two or more activities to which different exemptions are applicable, each of which activities considered separately would be an exempt activity under the applicable exemption if it were the sole activity of the employee for the whole workweek in question, as a matter of enforcement policy the employee will be considered exempt during such workweek. If the scope of such exemptions is not the same, the exemption applicable to the employee will be equivalent to that provided by whichever exemption provision is more limited in scope.
(b) In the case of an establishment which sells both goods and services at retail and which qualifies as an exempt establishment under section 13(a)(2), but cannot, as a whole, meet the tests of section 13(a)(4) because it sells services as well as goods, a combination of section 13(a)(2) and 13(a)(4) exemptions may nevertheless be available for employees of the establishment who make or process, on the premises, goods which it sells. Such employees employed by an establishment which, as a whole, meets the tests set forth in section 13(a)(2), will be considered exempt under this combination exemption if the establishment, on the basis of all its activities other than sales of services, would meet the tests of section 13(a)(4).
(c) Where two or more exemptions are applicable to an employee's work or employment during a workweek and where he may be exempt under a combination of exemptions stated above, the availability of a combination exemption will depend on whether the employee meets all the requirements of each exemption which it is sought to combine.
Engaging in Manufacturing and Processing Activities; Section 13(a)(4)
§ 779.345 - Exemption provided in section 13(a)(4).
The section 13(a)(4) exemption (see § 779.301) exempts any employee employed by a retail establishment which meets the requirements for exemption under section 13(a)(2), even though the establishment makes or processes on its own premises the goods that it sells, provided, that more than 85 percent of such establishment's annual dollar volume of sales of the goods so made or processed is made within the State in which the establishment is located, and other prescribed tests are met.
§ 779.346 - Requirements for exemption summarized.
An establishment to qualify for exemption under section 13(a)(4) must be an exempt retail establishment under section 13(a)(2); that is, 75 percent of its annual dollar volume of sales of goods must not be for resale, 75 percent of its annual dollar volume of sales of goods must be recognized as retail in its industry, over 50 percent of its annual dollar volume of sales of goods must be made within the State in which the establishment is located, and its annual dollar volume of sales must be under $250,000. In addition, the establishment must meet the following three tests:
(a) The establishment must be recognized as a retail establishment in the particular industry.
(b) The goods which the exempt establishment makes or processes must be made or processed at the establishment which sells the goods.
(c) More than 85 percent of the establishment's annual dollar volume of sales of the goods which it makes or processes must be made within the State in which the establishment is located. (See Act, section 13(a)(2); H. Rept. No. 1453, 81st Cong. first session, p. 27; Arnold v. Ben Kanowsky, Inc., 361 U.S. 388.)
§ 779.347 - Exemption limited to “recognized retail establishment”; factories not exempt.
The section 13(a)(4) exemption requires the establishment to be recognized as a retail establishment in the particular industry. This test limits the exemption to retail establishments only, and excludes factories as such and establishments to which the retail concept does not apply. In other words this test requires that the establishment as a whole be recognized as a retail establishment although it makes or processes at the establishment the goods it sells. Typical of the establishment which may be recognized as retail establishments under the exemption are custom tailor shops, candy shops, ice cream parlors, bakeries, drug stores, optometrist establishments, retail ice plants and other local retail establishments which make or process the goods they sell and meet the other tests for exemption. Clearly factories as such are not “recognized retail establishments” and would not be eligible for this exemption. (See 95 Cong. Rec. pp. 11001, 11200, 11216, and 14942.)
§ 779.348 - Goods must be made at the establishment which sells them.
(a) Further to make certain that the exemption applies to retail establishments only and not to factories, an additional requirement of the exemption is that the goods which the exempt establishment makes or processes must be made or processed at the establishment which sells the goods. The exemption does not apply to an establishment which makes or processes goods for sale to customers who will go to other places to buy them. Thus an establishment that makes or processes any goods which the employer will sell from another establishment, is not exempt. If the establishment making the goods does not sell such goods but makes them for the purpose of selling them at other establishments the establishment making the goods is a factory and not a retail establishment.
(b) Where the making or processing of the goods takes place away from the selling establishment, the section 13(a)(4) requirement that both the making or processing and selling take place at the same establishment cannot be met. This will be true even though the place at which the goods are made or processed services the retail selling establishment exclusively. In such a situation, while the selling establishment may qualify for exemption under section 13(a)(2), the separate establishment at which the goods are made or processed will not be exempt. The latter is a manufacturing establishment. For example, a candy kitchen manufacturing candy for sale at separate retail outlets is a manufacturing establishment and not a retail establishment. (Fred Wolferman, Inc. v. Gustafson, 169 F. 2d 759 (CA-8.))
(c) The fact that goods made or processed on the premises of a bona fide retail establishment are sold by the establishment through outside salesmen (as, for example, department store salesmen taking orders from housewives for draperies) will not defeat the exemption if otherwise applicable. On the other hand, in the case of a factory or similar establishment devoted to making or processing goods, the fact that its goods are sold at retail by outside salesmen provides no ground for recognizing the establishment as a retail establishment or qualifying it for exemption.
§ 779.349 - The 85-percent requirement.
The final requirement for the section 13(a)(4) exemption is that more than 85 percent of the establishment's sales of the goods it makes or processes, measured by annual dollar volume, must consist of sales made within the State in which the establishment is located. A retail establishment of the type intended to be exempt under this exemption may also sell goods which it does not make or process; the 85-percent requirement applies only to the sales of goods which are made or processed at the establishment. This must not be confused with the additional test which requires that the establishment, to be exempt, must derive more than 50 percent of its entire annual dollar volume of sales of goods from sales made within the State. (See § 779.339.) In other words, more than 85 percent of the establishment's annual dollar volume of sales of goods made or processed at the establishment, and more than 50 percent of the establishment's total annual dollar volume of sales of all the goods sold by the establishment, must be derived from sales made within the State. An establishment will not lose an otherwise applicable exemption under section 13(a)(4) merely because some of its sales of goods made or processed at the establishment are sales for resale or are not recognized as retail sales in the particular industry. Sales for resale, such as wholesale sales, and other sales not recognized as retail sales in the industry, will be counted in the 25-percent tolerance permitted by the exemption. (Cf. Arnold v. Ben Kanowsky, Inc., 361 U.S. 388.) Thus, for example, a bakery otherwise meeting the tests of 13(a)(4) making and selling baked goods on the premises nevertheless will qualify as an exempt retail establishment even though it engages in the sale of baked goods to grocery stores for resale if such sales, together with other sales not recognized as retail in the industry, do not exceed 25 percent of the total annual dollar volume of the establishment.
§ 779.350 - The section 13(a)(4) exemption does not apply to service establishments.
The section 13(a)(4) exemption applies to retail establishments engaged in the selling of goods. It does not apply to service establishments. If the establishment is a service establishment, it must qualify under section 13(a)(2) in order to be exempt. A retail establishment selling goods, however, also may perform services incidental or necessary to the sale of such goods, such as a delivery service by a bakery store or installation of antennas by a radio dealer for his customers, without affecting the character of the establishment as a retail establishment qualified for exemption under section 13(a)(4).
Engaging in Contract Telegraph Agency Operations; Section 13(a)(11)
§ 779.351 - Exemption provided.
Section 13(a)(11) (See § 779.301) exempts from sections 6 and 7 of the Act any employee or proprietor who is engaged in handling telegraphic messages for the public in a retail or service establishment which qualifies as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2), if the conditions specified in section 13(a)(11) are met and the provisions of section 6 and 7 of the Act would not otherwise apply.
§ 779.352 - Requirements for exemption.
The requirements of the exemption are: (a) The establishment in which the employee or proprietor works must qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act; (b) the employee or proprietor must be engaged in handling telegraphic messages for the public pursuant to an agency or contract arrangement with a telegraph company; (c) such employee or proprietor must be one to whom the minimum wage and overtime pay provisions of the Act would not apply in the absence of such handling of telegraphic messages (See Western Union Tel. Co. v. McComb 165 F. 2d. 65 (CA-6), certiorari denied, 333 U.S. 362); and (d) the exemption applies only where the telegraphic message revenue does not exceed $500 a month. For purposes of this exemption only, in determining whether a retail or service establishment meets the percentage tests contained in section 13(a)(2) of the Act, the receipts from the telegraphic message agency will not be included.
Classification of Sales and Establishments in Certain Industries
§ 779.353 - Basis for classification.
The general principles governing the application of the 13(a)(2) and 13(a)(4) exemptions are explained in detail earlier in the subpart. It is the purpose of the following sections to show how these principles apply to establishments in certain specific industries. In these industries the Divisions have made special studies, held hearings or consulted with representatives of industry and labor, to ascertain the facts. Based upon these facts the following determinations have been made as to which sales or establishments are, and which are not, recognized as retail in the particular industry.
Lumber and Building Materials Dealers
§ 779.354 - Who may qualify as exempt 13(a)(2) or 13(a)(4) establishments.
(a) Section 13(a)(2). An establishment engaged in selling lumber and building materials may qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that exemption. It must appear that:
(1) The establishment is not in an enterprise described in section 3(s) of the Act or, if it is, its annual dollar volume of sales (exclusive of excise taxes at the retail level which are separately stated) is less than $250,000; and
(2) More than 50 percent of the establishment's annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services is made within the State in which the establishment is located; and
(3) 75 percent or more of the establishment's annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services (or of both) is made from sales which are not for resale and are recognized as retail sales of goods or services in the industry.
These requirements are further explained in §§ 779.301 through 779.343.(b) Section 13(a)(4). An establishment which makes or processes lumber and building materials which it sells may qualify as an exempt establishment under section 13(a)(4) of the Act if it meets all the requirements (see Arnold v. Kanowsky, 361 U.S. 388) of that exemption. It must appear that:
(1) The establishment qualifies as an exempt retail establishment under section 13(a)(2) (see paragraph (a) of this section and § 779.350); and
(2) The establishment is recognized as a retail establishment in the industry (see § 779.347 and paragraph (c) of this section); and
(3) The goods which such establishment makes or processes for sale are made or processed at the retail establishment which sells them (see § 779.348); and
(4) More than 85 percent of the annual dollar volume derived by the retail establishment from sales of goods so made or processed therein is made within the State in which the establishment is located (see §§ 779.349, 779.339 through 779.341).
(c) Establishments recognized as retail in the industry. An establishment which meets the requirements for exemption under section 13(a)(4) which are stated in paragraphs (b)(1), (3), and (4) of this section is recognized as retail establishment in the industry within the meaning of paragraph (b)(2) of this section if its annual dollar volume of sales of goods made or processed at the establishment does not exceed 50 percent of the annual dollar volume which it derives from sales that are recognized as retail and are not made for resale.
(d) Establishments lacking a “retail concept.” The exemptions provided by sections 13(a)(2) and 13(a)(4) of the Act do not apply to establishments in an industry in which there is no traditional concept of retail selling or servicing (see § 779.316), such as the establishment of a building contractor (see § 779.317; Goldberg v. Dakota Flooring Co., 15 WH Cases 305), or a factory (see § 779.347).
§ 779.355 - Classification of lumber and building materials sales.
(a) General. In determining, for purposes of the section 13(a)(2) and (4) exemptions, whether 75 percent of the annual dollar volume of the establishment's sales which are not for resale and are recognized as retail in the industry, such sales will be considered to include all sales of lumber and building materials by the establishment which meet all the requirements for such classification as previously explained in this subpart, but will not be considered to include the transactions noted in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, which do not meet the statutory tests:
(b) Transactions not recognized as retail sales. (See §§ 779.314 through 779.329.) Dollar volume derived from the following is not made from sales or services which are recognized as retail in the industry:
(1) Contracts to build, maintain, or repair buildings or other structures, or sales of services involving performance of typical construction activity or any other work recognized as an activity of a contracting business rather than a function of a retail merchant;
(2) Sales of lumber and building materials in which the seller agrees to install them for the purchaser, where the installation is not limited to services that are merely incidental to the sale and delivery of such materials but includes a substantial amount of activity such as construction work which is not recognized as retail (for example, sale and installation of roofing, siding, or insulation). A sale of such materials which would otherwise be recognized as retail (contracts described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section are outside this category) may be so recognized notwithstanding the installation agreement, however, to the extent that the sales value of the materials is segregated and separately identified in the transaction;
(3) Sales in direct carload shipments; that is, where the materials are shipped direct in carload lots from the dealer's supplier to the dealer's customer;
(4) Sales of specialized goods (some examples are logs, ties, pulpwood, telephone poles, and pilings). Such specialized items are of the type which the general consuming public does not ordinarily have occasion to use (cf. § 779.318 and Mitchell v. Raines, 238 F. 2d 186), and the sales of such items are not recognized as retail in the industry;
(5) Sales made pursuant to formal bid procedures, such as those utilized by the Federal, State, and local governments and their agencies, involving the issuance by the buyer of a formal invitation to bid on certain merchandise for delivery in accordance with prescribed terms and specifications.
(c) Sales for resale. (See §§ 779.330-779.336.) Examples of sales which cannot be counted toward the required 75 percent because they are for resale include:
(1) Sales of lumber and building materials sold to other dealers for resale in the same form;
(2) Sales to industrial concerns for resale in any altered form or as a part or ingredient of other goods;
(3) Sales to contractors or builders for use in the construction, repair, or maintenance of commercial or industrial structures or any other structures not specifically included in section 3(n) of the Act (Sucrs. de Mayal v. Mitchell, 280 F. 2d 477, certiorari denied 364 U.S. 902; and see Arnold v. Kanowsky, 361 U.S. 388, 394, footnote 10, and §§ 779.335-779.336);
(4) Transfers of goods by an employer, who is a dealer in lumber and building materials and who also acts in the capacity of a building contractor or speculative builder, from or through his building materials establishment to his building business for the construction maintenance, or repair of commercial property or any other property not excepted in section 3(n) of the Act. (See § 779.336.)
§ 779.356 - Application of exemptions to employees.
(a) Employees who may be exempt under sections 13(a)(2) and 13(a)(4). These exemptions apply on an establishment basis (see §§ 779.302-779.306). Accordingly, where an establishment of a dealer in lumber and building materials qualifies as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) or as an exempt establishment under section 13(a)(4), as explained in § 779.354, the exemption from the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements of the Act provided by such section will apply, subject to the limitations hereafter noted in this section, to all employees who are employed “by” such establishment (see §§ 779.307-779.311) in activities within the scope of its business (§ 779.308) and who are not employed by the employer in performing central office or warehouse work of an organization operating several such establishments (§ 779.310; McComb v. W. E. Wright Co., 168 F. 2d 40, cert. denied 335 U.S. 854). Neither exemption extends to employees employed in performing the work of a nonexempt establishment (§ 779.311) or such activities as construction work. Employees employed in making and processing of lumber and building materials for sale do not come within the section 13(a)(2) exemption; they are exempt only if employed by an establishment which qualifies as an exempt establishment under section 13(a)(4) as explained in § 779.354 and if their work in the making or processing of such materials is done at such establishment. How duties relating to the processing or manufacturing of such materials affect the application of these exemptions is discussed in further detail in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section.
(b) Processing and manufacturing activities. The performance, in an establishment which sells lumber and building materials at retail, of activities such as cutting lumber to a smaller size or dressing lumber in accordance with a customer's request or assembling window and door frames received in “knocked-down” condition, constitutes processing incidental to the sales of such materials. Such activities are not considered manufacturing and will not affect the applicability of the section 13(a)(2) exemption to the establishment or to the employees who perform them. However, whenever lumber is cut or dressed for sale, or fabricated products are manufactured for sale (for example, windows, door frames, benches, pig troughs, pallets, molding, sashes, cabinets, boxes), there is no exemption under section 13(a)(2). Employees performing such manufacturing activities at the establishment are exempt only if all the tests set forth in section 13(a)(4) are met (see pars. (b), (c), and (d) of § 779.354). Employees engaged in such activities at a manufacturing plant, central yard, or other place not qualifying as an exempt establishment under section 13(a) (2) and (4) are not exempt.
(c) Employees serving exempt and nonexempt operations. In lumber and building materials establishments which qualify for exemption under section 13(a)(2) but engage in some activities in which their employees are not exempt, such as construction or the making or processing of materials for sale where no exemption under section 13(a)(4) is applicable, there may be auxiliary employees of the establishment whose duties relate to both the exempt sales portion of the business and the non-exempt operations. For example, office workers may keep records of both the retail sales and construction or manufacturing activities; custodial workers may clean the entire premises, including portions devoted to nonexempt manufacturing; and warehousemen, messengers, and stock clerks may handle material for all departments, including material used in the nonexempt operations. These employees do not qualify for the exemption except when they are primarily engaged in the sales portion of the business and only incidentally perform clerical, custodial, or messenger service for the other operations. As an enforcement policy, such an employee will not be considered to be engaged in nonexempt activities which render him ineligible for exemption under section 13(a)(2) if, in the particular workweek, an insubstantial amount of his time (20 percent or less) is allocable to the clerical, custodial, or messenger services performed by him which relate to such nonexempt operations of the employer.
Coal Dealers
§ 779.357 - May qualify as exempt 13(a)(2) establishments; classification of coal sales.
(a) General. A coal dealer's establishment may qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that exemption. In determining for purposes of the 13(a)(2) exemption, whether 75 percent of the establishment's sales are recognized as retail in the particular industry, sales of coal to the consumer from a dealer's yard storage, where bulk is broken, are recognized as retail if they meet the requirements for such classification as previously explained in this subpart. It has been determined that the following sales do not meet such requirements and are not so recognized even if made from a dealer's yard storage:
(1) Sales where the delivery is made by railroad car or cargo vessel.
(2) Sales in a carload quantity or more for continuous delivery by truck from a dock, mine or public railroad facility.
(3) Sales of coal at a wholesale price. A wholesale price is a price comparable to or lower than the establishment's price in sales described in paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this section or in sales to dealers (but not peddlers) for resale. If the establishment makes no such sales, the wholesale price is the price comparable to or lower than the price prevailing in the immediate area in sales described in paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this section or in sales to dealers (but not peddlers) for resale.
(4) Sales of coal for use in the production of a specific product to be sold in which coal is an essential ingredient or the principal raw material, such as sales of coal for the production of coke, coal gas, coal tar, or electricity.
(b) “Sales for resale.” In determining for purposes of the 13(a)(2) exemption, whether 75 percent of the establishment's sales are not made for resale, “sales for resale” will include sales of coal to other dealers, to peddlers, and sales of coal for use in the production of a specific product to be sold, in which coal is an essential ingredient or the principal raw material, such as sales of coal for the production of coke, coal gas, coal tar, or electricity. This is distinguished from sales of coal for use in the general manufacturing or industrial process such as the use in laundries, bakeries, nurseries, canneries, etc., or for space heating, which are not sales made for resale.
Ice Manufacturers and Ice Dealers
§ 779.358 - May qualify as exempt 13(a)(2) or 13(a)(4) establishments.
(a) An establishment engaged in selling ice may qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that exemption. Similarly, an establishment making the ice it sells may qualify as an exempt establishment under section 13(a)(4) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that exemption.
(b) In determining whether the requirements of the 13(a)(2) exemption that 75 percent of the establishment's sales must not be made for resale and must be recognized as retail sales in the industry are met, sales of ice which meet all the requirements for such classification as previously explained in this subpart will be regarded as retail. The following sales have been determined not to qualify under the applicable tests for recognition as retail:
(1) Sales for resale.
(2) Sales of ice for icing railroad cars and for icing cargo trucks. However, sales of ice for the re-icing of cargo trucks are recognized as retail if such sales do not fall into the nonretail categories described in paragraphs (b) (4) and (5) of this section.
(3) Sales of ice in railroad car lots.
(4) Sales of ice of a ton or more.
(5) Sales of ice at a price comparable to that charged by the establishment to dealers or, if no sales are made to dealers by the establishment, at a price comparable to or lower than the prevailing price to dealers in the area.
(c) The legislative history indicates that iceplants making the ice they sell are among the establishments which may qualify as retail establishments under the section 13(a)(4) exemption. It appears that all iceplants which sell at retail are establishments of the same general type, permitting no separate classifications with respect to recognition as retail establishments. Any iceplant which meets the tests of section 13(a)(2) will, therefore, be considered to be recognized as a retail establishment in the industry. Of course, the establishment must also meet all the other tests of section 13(a)(4) to qualify for the exemption.
(d) There are some iceplants which meet the section 13(a)(2) exemption requirements, but do not meet all of the section 13(a)(4) requirements. In such establishments, there may be some employees whose duties relate to both the sales portion of the business and the making or processing of ice. These employees will not qualify for exemption. However, in such establishment, there may be some employees who work primarily for the retail sales portion of the business and also perform incidental clerical, custodial, or messenger service for the manufacturing operation. For example, office workers may keep records of both the manufacturing activities and of the retail sales departments, maintenance workers may clean up in both parts of the establishment, and messengers may perform services for both activities. If these employees spend relatively little time in the work related to the ice manufacturing portion of the business, they will not, as an enforcement policy, be regarded as engaged in the making or processing of ice. Such an auxiliary employee will thus be exempt under section 13(a)(2) in any workweek in which an insubstantial amount of his time (20 percent or less) is allocable to the clerical, messenger, or custodial work of the ice manufacturing operations.
Liquefied-Petroleum-Gas and Fuel Oil Dealers
§ 779.359 - May qualify as exempt 13(a)(2) establishments.
A liquefied-petroleum-gas or fuel oil dealer's establishment may qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that exemption. (It should be noted, however, that employees of certain enterprises engaged in the wholesale or bulk distribution of petroleum products may be partially exempt from the overtime provisions of the Act under section 7(b)(3). This overtime exemption is discussed in a separate bulletin, part 794 of this chapter. Liquefied-petroleum-gas means butane, propane and mixtures of butane and propane gases.
§ 779.360 - Classification of liquefied-petroleum-gas sales.
(a) General. In determining, under the 13(a)(2) exemption, whether 75 percent of the establishment's sales are not for resale and are recognized as retail sales in the industry, sales to the ultimate consumer of liquefied-petroleum-gas, whether delivered in portable cylinders or in bulk to the customer's storage tanks, are recognized as retail in the industry if they meet all the requirements for such classification as previously explained in this subpart. The following are not recognized as retail:
(1) Sales in single lot deliveries exceeding 1,000 gallons;
(2) Sales made on a competitive bid basis (this term covers sales made pursuant to an invitation to bid, particularly sales to Federal, State and local governments; sales made in a like manner to commercial and industrial concerns and institutions are also included); and
(3) Sales for use in the production of a specific product in which the gas is an essential ingredient or principal raw material, such as sales of liquefied-petroleum-gas for the production of chemicals and synthetic rubber; and
(4) Sales of liquefied-petroleum-gas for use as truck or bus fuel and the repair and servicing of trucks and buses used in over-the-road commercial transportation (including parts and accessories for such vehicles).
(b) Sales or repairs of tanks. Sales or repairs of tanks for the storage of liquefied-petroleum-gas are recognized as retail in the industry, except: (1) Any tank exceeding 1,000 gallons in capacity; (2) any tank sold or repaired on the basis described in paragraph (a) (2) of this section or for the purposes described in paragraph (a)(3) of this section; and (3) sales in quantity larger than involved in the ordinary sales to a farm or household customer.
(c) Conversion units. Sales and installation of units for converting pumps, stoves, furnaces and other equipment and appliances to the use of liquefied-petroleum-gas, are recognized as retail sales except: (1) Sales of the installation of such conversion units which involve substantial modification of the appliance or equipment; (2) sales and installation of such units to be used in industrial machinery or equipment; (3) sales and installations made on the basis described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section or in quantity as described in § 779.327; and (4) sales and installation of such units for vehicles mentioned in paragraph (a) (4) of this section.
§ 779.361 - Classification of other fuel oil sales.
(a) Sales of fuel oil (as differentiated from sales of butane and propane gases) are classified as retail and nonretail sales as follows:
(1) Retail sales—all sales of grades No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 of fuel oil direct to housholders for their own domestic uses;
(2) Nonretail sales:
(i) All sales of grades No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 fuel oil as these heavy oils are “special purpose” goods to which the retail sales concept has no application (See § 779.321);
(ii) All sales for resale including such sales to peddlers and other dealers (See §§ 779.331-779.334);
(iii) All sales made pursuant to a formal invitation to bid (See § 779.328(d)).
(b) In some cases the retail or nonretail status of an establishment may turn on sales other than those listed above. In such cases all the facts relative to such sales shall be considered in arriving at a determination. The classification of such sales depends upon whether they are recognized as retail sales. In such cases particular attention shall be given to the quantities involved and the prices charged.
Feed Dealers
§ 779.362 - May qualify as exempt 13(a)(2) or 13(a)(4) establishments.
(a) An establishment engaged in selling feed may qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that exemption. Similarly an establishment making and processing the feed it sells may qualify as an exempt establishment under section 13(a)(4) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that exemption.
(b) In determining whether, under the 13(a)(2) exemption, 75 percent of the establishment's sales are not for resale and are recognized as retail sales in the industry, sales of feed to feeders will generally meet the requirements for such classification as previously explained in this subpart and will ordinarily be considered to be retail sales except for the following which do not meet the requirements and are not recognized as retail: Any sale of feed for shipment by railcar direct to the feeder; and sales made at a quantity discount which results in a price comparable to or lower than the establishment's price to dealers for resale or, if the establishment makes no sales to other dealers, at a price comparable to or lower than the price prevailing in the immediate area in sales by similar establishments to dealers for resale.
(c) The custom grinding and mixing of feed (including the addition of supplements) for feeders from the grain they themselves bring in will be regarded as the performance of a service, and not the making or processing of goods for sale under section 13(a)(4). Such services are recognized as retail services in the industry and the revenue derived therefrom will be included with the retail receipts of the establishment.
(d) Employees employed in the grinding and mixing of feed for sale (as distinguished from the grinding and mixing services discussed in paragraph (c) of this section) are engaged in the making or processing of goods and are therefore not exempt under section 13(a)(2). In order for these employees to be exempt, the establishment by which they are employed must meet all the requirements of section 13(a)(4), including the requirement that the establishment must be recognized as a retail establishment in the particular industry. The typical small feed mill engaged in selling goods to farmers appears to be recognized as retail in the industry. There are, of course, large mills which are essentially factories which are not so recognized. As an enforcement policy an establishment which qualifies for exemption under section 13(a)(2) will be considered to have met this requirement: (1) If less than 50 percent of its retail sales are composed of feed manufactured at the establishment; or (2) if its sales of feeds manufactured at the establishment do not exceed 2,000 tons a year. In determining these tests for the applicability of the exemption, the computation of the sales of feed manufactured will be made on an annual basis in the same manner as set forth in §§ 779.265 through 779.269 for the computation of sales.
Monument Dealers
§ 779.363 - May qualify as exempt 13(a)(2) or 13(a)(4) establishments.
(a) An establishment engaged in the sale of monuments and memorials may qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that exemption. Similarly, an establishment making or processing the monuments it sells may qualify as an exempt establishment under section 13(a)(4) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that exemption.
(b) Monument dealers' establishments may be roughly divided into four types;
(1) Establishments which are engaged exclusively in selling monuments and memorials from designs. They receive their monuments from a manufacturer completely finished and lettered and they then erect the monuments.
(2) Establishments which purchase finished monuments from manufacturers, display them, carve or sand-blast lettering or incidental decoration to order, and set them in cemeteries or elsewhere.
(3) Establishments which purchase finished and semi-finished work. The semifinished work consists of sawed, steeled, or polished granite slabs or sand-rubbed marble. In such a case the establishments will cut ends, tops, or joints on dies and may shape a base.
(4) Establishments which purchase stone in rough form and perform all the fabricating operations in their own plants. In such a case the establishments may saw or line-up the rough stones, machine surface and polish the stone and then perform the other operations necessary to complete the monument. They may finish the monuments for display or on special order and then erect them.
(c) In determining whether, under the 13(a)(2) exemption, 75 percent of the establishment's sales are not for resale and are recognized as retail sales in the industry, the ordinary sale of a single tombstone or monument to the ultimate purchaser will be considered as a retail sale within the meaning of the exemption. If the monument dealer establishment meets all the tests of the 13(a)(2) exemption all employees employed by it will be exempt under that exemption except those employees who are engaged in the making or processing of the goods. However, carving or sandblasting of lettering or incidental decoration or erecting the monuments, is considered processing incidental to the making of retail sales and would not defeat the 13(a)(2) exemption for employees performing such work. Employees who engage in processing semifinished or rough granite or marble or other stone into finished monuments such as the work performed in establishments described in paragraphs (b) (3) and (4) of this section are engaged in the making or processing of goods and are, for that reason, not exempt under section 13(a)(2). In order for those employees to be exempt the establishment by which they are employed must meet all the requirements of the 13(a)(4) exemption.
(d) One of the requirements of the section 13(a)(4) exemption is that an establishment which makes or processes goods must be recognized as a retail establishment in the industry. Generally an establishment described in paragraph (b)(3) of this section which receives finished stock and in addition receives some semifinished work, including sawed, steeled, or polished granite slabs or sand-rubbed marble, etc., and performs such operations as cutting ends, tops, or joints on the dies, is a type of establishment which is recognized as a retail establishment in the industry. On the other hand, those establishments which characteristically engage in the sawing or lining up of rough stone, or in the machine surfacing and polishing of stone, such as the activities performed in an establishment described in paragraph (b)(4) of this section, are not recognized as retail establishments in the particular industry within the meaning of section 13(a)(4). Therefore, their employees who engage in such processing of monuments are not exempt under this section of the Act.
Frozen-Food Locker Plants
§ 779.364 - May qualify as exempt 13(a)(2) or 13(a)(4) establishments.
(a) An establishment engaged in providing frozen-food locker service to farmers and other private individuals and rendering services thereto may qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that exemption. Similarly, a frozen-food locker plant which also engages in slaughtering and dressing livestock or poultry for sale may qualify as an exempt establishment under section 13(a)(4) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that exemption.
(b) Activities of frozen-food locker plants. Frozen-food locker plants provide locker service for the cold storage of frozen meats, fruits, and vegetables and engage in incidental activities such as the cutting of meat, cleaning, packaging or wrapping and quick freezing, of meats, fruits, or vegetables for such locker service. In such establishments lockers are rented principally to farmers and other private individuals for the purpose of storage by them of such goods for their own personal or family use. Storage space and related services may also be provided for business or commercial use such as to hotels, stores or restaurants, or to farmers or other customers who use it to store meat and other goods for future sale. Such locker plants may also engage in such activities as the custom slaughtering and dressing of livestock or poultry and the curing, smoking, or other processing of meat owned by farmers and other private individuals for storage by those customers either in their home freezers or in locker plants for the customers' personal or family use. The custom slaughtering or processing activities of such locker establishments may be performed on the premises of the establishments or at some location away from the establishment.
(c) Classification of sales. In determining whether, under the 13(a)(2) exemption, 75 percent of the establishment's sales are not for resale and are recognized as retail sales in the industry, the receipts from the locker service and the incidental activities mentioned in the first sentence of this section and from the slaughtering, dressing, or other processing of livestock or poultry performed for farmers and other private individuals for their own use, but not where the goods are to be sold to others by the customer, will be counted as receipts from sales of services recognized as retail in the industry. Receipts from commercial storage and activities incidental thereto and from the sale of hides, offal or other byproducts will be counted as receipts from sales of goods or services made for resale or which are not recognized as retail sales of goods or services in the industry.
(d) Some locker plant establishments also include a meat market of the type which slaughters its own livestock or poultry (as distinguished from the slaughtering performed as a service to customers on the customers' own livestock) and processes such meat for sale by it to the general public. In performing such operations as the slaughtering, curing, and smoking of meat and the rendering of fats for sale, the establishment is making or processing goods that it sells and is not performing retail services for its customers. Employees engaged in these activities in such an establishment, therefore, are not exempt under section 13(a)(2) but may be exempt if the establishment meets the tests of a combination 13(a)(2)-13(a)(4) exemption in accordance with the principles stated in § 779.343. As a general rule, such a meat market which slaughters its own livestock and sells its meat to the general public is a type of establishment which may be recognized as a retail establishment in the industry within the meaning of the 13(a)(4) exemption. Whether a particular establishment, however, is so recognized depends upon the facts of the case. It should be noted that where such slaughtering, curing or smoking is, for any reason, performed away from the premises of the establishment where the meat is sold, the employees engaged in such activities are not employees employed by a retail establishment which “makes or processes at the retail establishment the goods that it sells” within the meaning of the 13(a)(4) exemption and cannot, therefore, be exempt under that section.
Automotive Tire Establishments
§ 779.365 - May qualify as exempt 13(a)(2) or 13(a)(4) establishments.
(a) An establishment engaged in the selling of tires, tubes, accessories and of repair services on tires may qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that exemption. Similarly, an establishment engaged in retreading or recapping tires may qualify as an exempt establishment under section 13(a)(4) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that exemption.
(b)(1) In determining whether, under the 13(a)(2) exemption, 75 percent of the establishment's sales are not made for resale and are recognized as retail sales in the industry, sales other than those described hereinafter in the subparagraphs of this paragraph may be so counted if they meet all the requirements for such classification as previously explained in this subpart. Not eligible for inclusion in the requisite 75 percent are sales of goods that cannot be the subject of a retail sale because the goods are not of a “retailable” type or the sales of such goods lack the “retail concept” (see § 779.321). Nor can sales for resale be counted toward the 75 percent. For example, sales of tires, tubes, accessories or services to garages, service stations, repair shops, tire dealers and automobile dealers, to be sold or to be used in reconditioning vehicles for sale are sales for resale. Further, the sales of tires, tubes, accessories and tire repair services, including retreading and recapping, which are described in the following paragraphs (b) (2) through (7), are not recognized as retail in the industry.
(2) Sales made pursuant to a formal invitation to bid: Such sales are made under a procedure involving the issuance by the buyer of a formal invitation to bid on certain merchandise for delivery in accordance with prescribed terms and specifications. Sales to the Federal, State and local governments are typically made in this manner.
(3) Sales to “national accounts” as known in the trades; that is, sales where delivery is made by the local tire dealer under a centralized pricing arrangement between the customer's national office and the tire manufacturer; payment may be made either to the local dealer or direct to the tire manufacturer under a centralized billing arrangement with the customer's national office.
(4) Sales to fleet accounts at wholesale prices: As used in this section, a “fleet account” is a customer operating five or more automobiles or trucks for business purposes. Wholesale prices for tires, tubes, and accessories are prices equivalent to, or less than, those typically charged on sales for resale. If the establishment makes no sales of passenger car tires for resale, the wholesale price of such tires will be taken to be the price typically charged in the area on sales of passenger car tires for resale. If the establishment makes no sales of truck tires for resale, the wholesale price of such tires will be taken to be the price charged by the establishment on sales of truck tires to fleet accounts operating 10 or more commercial vehicles, or if the establishment makes no such sales, the wholesale price will be taken to be the price typically charged in the area on sales of truck tires to fleet accounts operating 10 or more commercial vehicles. (See Wirtz v. Steepleton General Tire, 383 U.S. 190, 202, rehearing denied 383 U.S. 963.)
(5) Sales of a tire rental service on a mileage basis known in the trade as “mileage contracts”: This is a leasing arrangement under which a tire dealer agrees to provide and maintain tires or tubes for motor vehicles of a fleet account.
(6) Sales of servicing and repair work performed under a fleet maintenance arrangement on tires for trucks and other automotive vehicles whereby the establishment undertakes to maintain the tires or tubes for a fleet account at a price below the prevailing retail price.
(7) Sales, repair, recapping, or rental of truck or machinery tires suitable for use only on trucks or equipment of a specialized kind that cannot themselves be the subject of a retail sale because their lack of a concept of “retailability” as previously explained precludes the recognition of their sale as “retail;” to any industry.
§ 779.366 - Recapping or retreading tires for sale.
(a) Some automotive tire establishments engage in recapping and retreading work on tires which the establishment expects to sell in their reconditioned form. Such activities are not performed as a service for a customer but constitute manufacturing goods for sale. Employees performing such work may be exempt only if they are employed by an establishment which meets all the requirements of the 13(a)(4) exemption.
(b) For purposes of meeting the retail recognition requirement of section 13(a)(4), an establishment engaged in retreading or recapping of tires which qualifies for exemption under section 13(a)(2) is recognized as a retail establishment in the industry if not more than 50 percent of the annual dollar volume of its sales resulting from its retreading and recapping operations comes from the sale of tires retreaded and recapped for sale.
Commercial Stationers
§ 779.367 - Commercial stationers may qualify as exempt 13(a)(2) establishments.
(a) A commercial stationer's establishment may qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that exemption. Where the establishment meets these requirements all employees employed by the establishment will be exempt, except any employees who are engaged in the making or processing of goods, such as printing and engraving. The commercial stationer ordinarily has a store on the street level located in the shopping section of the community where other stores are located and many people pass by. He has store clerks who sell over the counter to the consuming public and may have outside salesmen who sell to offices. He makes very few, if any, sales to other dealers for resale. He keeps in stock and displays the various items sold over the counter and by outside salesmen. The number of items in stock typically ranges from 5,000 to 15,000. Primarily, items sold are stationery, pens, pencils, blotters, briefcases, calendars, clocks, greeting cards, thumbtacks, typewriter ribbons, carbon paper, paper clips, ink, commercial envelopes and typewriter paper, filing supplies and similar items. In addition he may also sell filing cabinets, office desks and chairs, other items of office furniture and supplies and equipment generally, as well as standard and portable typewriters and certain other small office machines.
(b) In determining whether, under the 13(a)(2) exemption, 75 percent of the establishment's sales are recognized as retail sales, in the case of commercial stationery establishments which in general operate as described in § 779.367(a), the sales made which are of “Retailable” items and are not for resale will be recognized as retail if they meet the requirements for such classification as previously explained in this subpart. The following position is adopted for enforcement purposes: All sales other than for resale of stationery, office supplies and equipment, office furniture and office machinery commonly stocked by commercial stationers for sale to individual consumers as well as businesses, including typewriters, adding machines, small duplicating machines, checkwriters, and the like, will be considered to be retail except for the sales set out below:
(1) Sales made on a competitive bid basis. This term covers sales made pursuant to an invitation to bid, particularly sales to Federal, State, and local governments; sales made in a like manner to commercial and industrial concerns and institutions are also included.
(2) Sales made pursuant to a requirements contract or other contractual arrangement involving the sale of a large quantity of goods over a period of time with a substantially lower price structure for the individual deliveries than would prevail for the usual sales of the quantities delivered.
(3) Sales made at quantity discount of 30 percent or more from the price of the ordinary unit of sale.
(4) Sales of school supplies to municipalities, boards of education, or schools in the same manner as the sales of school supply distributors.
(5) Sales of job printing and engraving other than (i) sales of social printing and engraving and (ii) sales of printing and engraving of business envelopes, letterheads, and calling cards.
(6) Sales of specialized machinery and equipment.
§ 779.368 - Printing and engraving establishments not recognized as retail.
(a) An establishment which is engaged in printing and engraving is not recognized as a retail establishment for purposes of section 13(a)(4). Therefore, employees of a stationery establishment engaged in printing and/or engraving do not come within the exemption. This fact will not affect the exemption under section 13(a)(2) of employees of stationery establishments who are not engaged in printing or engraving.
(b) In a combined stationery and printing or engraving establishment there are employees who operate the machines in the printing or engraving department and there may be other employees who also perform work primarily or exclusively for that department. There are in addition various employees in such combined establishments whose work relates to the stationery portion of the business but who also perform some work for the printing department. For example, office workers may keep records of both the printing plant and stationery department, maintenance workers may clean up in both departments; and warehousemen, messengers and stock clerks may handle material for both departments. In some establishments these workers spend relatively little time in the work of the printing department. As an enforcement policy an auxiliary employee will not be considered to be engaged in the making or processing of goods for purposes of the exemption under section 13(a)(2) in any workweek in which an insubstantial amount of his time (20 percent or less) is allocable to the clerical, messenger, or custodial work of the printing department.
Funeral Homes
§ 779.369 - Funeral home establishments may qualify as exempt 13(a)(2) establishments.
(a) General. A funeral home establishment may qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that section. Where the establishment meets these requirements generally all employees employed by the establishment will be exempt except any employees who perform any work in connection with burial insurance operations (see paragraph (b)) or who spend a substantial portion of their workweek in ambulance service operations, as described in paragraph (e) below.
(b) Burial insurance operations. There is no retail concept applicable to the insurance business (see § 779.317). Burial associations which enter into burial insurance contracts are generally regulated by the State and the regulations governing such associations are included in State statutes under Insurance. The contracts issued are very similar in form and content to ordinary life insurance policies. Income received from such operations is nonretail income and employees engaged in such work are not employed in work within the scope of the retail exemption (see § 779.308).
(c) Accommodation items. Amounts paid to funeral homes to cover the cost of “accommodation” items are part of the gross receipts of the establishment and are included in its annual gross volume of sales made or business done. Such items may include goods or services procured by the funeral home on behalf of the bereaved with or without profit but on its own credit or through cash payment by it, such as telegrams, long distance calls, newspaper notices, flowers, livery service, honoraria to participating personnel, transportation by common carrier, clothing for the deceased, and transcripts of necessary forms. For the purposes of determining the applicability of the retail or service establishment exemption, receipts of the funeral home in reimbursement for such services are considered derived from sales or services recognized as retail in the industry. Cash advances made as a convenience to a bereaved family are not included in computing the gross volume of sales made of business done when repaid. Of course, if interest is charged it would be included in the gross volume of sales and nonretail income.
(d) Nonretail services. Calling for and preparing bodies and crematory service for other funeral homes, burial insurance operations, and ambulance or livery transportation service (as distinguished from the use of ambulances or other vehicles as a necessary part of the undertaking, funeral, or burial services of the establishment), are some examples of a funeral home providing goods or services which will be “resold” or which are not recognized as retail.
(e) Ambulance service. The typical ambulance service establishment, engaged exclusively or nearly so in providing a specialized form of transportation for sick, injured, aged, or handicapped persons, is a part or branch of the transportation industry. Since there is no traditional retail concept in the transportation industry, such ambulance service establishments cannot qualify for the section 13(a)(2) exemption (see § 779.317). Income from the same typical ambulance services would be considered nonretail in applying the 25 percent tolerance for nonretail income in a funeral home. If an establishment engaged in a combination of funeral home and ambulance services meets all the tests for exemption under section 13(a)(2), as applied to the combined sales of both types of services, those of its employees who are engaged in the funeral home's activities and functions will be exempt as employees of a retail or service establishment. This exemption, however, does not apply to any employee regularly engaged in nonexempt ambulance transportation activities in any workweek when he devotes a substantial amount of his working time to such nonexempt work. More than 20 percent of the employee's working time in the workweek will, for enforcement purposes, be considered substantial.
(f) Out-of-State sales. An arrangement with a funeral home to embalm and ship human remains to a point outside the State for burial is not a sale within the State. The reverse situation where an out-of-State funeral director ships the remains to a funeral home to arrange for local interment also is not a sale within the State.
(g) Work for more than one establishment. Employees performing central office, supply, or warehouse functions for more than one funeral home establishment are not within the exemption (see § 779.310). However, where certain mortuaries may operate more than one exempt establishment and where employees such as embalmers employed by an exempt funeral home may be called upon in a given workweek to perform for another exempt establishment or establishments in the same enterprise work which is a part of the funeral home services sold by that establishment or establishments to customers, such employees do not lose the exemption where at all times during the workweek the employee is employed by one or the other of such exempt establishments either inside or outside the establishment in the activities within the scope of its own exempt business (see § 779.311(b)). In addition, where an establishment offering complete funeral home services also has outlying chapels where only the funeral services of the deceased persons are conducted, employees of the main establishment who are otherwise exempt do not lose the exemption by virtue of the activities which they may perform in connection with the funeral services held at the chapel. These activities are in such a case part of their employment by the exempt main establishment.
Cemeteries
§ 779.370 - Cemeteries may qualify as exempt 13(a)(2) establishments.
(a) General. A cemetery may qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act if it meets all the requirements of that section, including the requirement that the retail or service establishment be open to the general public. So long as a cemetery is open to any persons of a particular religion rather than merely the members of a specific organization or place of worship, it will be considered for enforcement purposes to be “open to the general public.”
(b) Annual dollar volume. As used in the Act, annual gross volume means the gross receipts from all the business activities of the establishment during a 12-month period (see §§ 779.265 through 779.269). Sums received from the following types of transactions are part of the annual gross volume of sales made or business done:
(1) Sales of lots or plots.
(2) Annual tax or assessment levied on lot owners, and
(3) Gifts or bequests.
Interest from any trust funds for permanent or current maintenance is also included in the annual gross volume of sales made or business done. The allocation of the gross receipts to any trust funds or other accounts of the establishment does not affect the annual gross volume.(c) Nonretail sales or income. Sales of lots or plots to a burial society or a fraternal organization for the use of the members are sales for resale and as such may not be counted as part of the 75 percent of annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services which is not for resale and recognized as retail in the industry under section 13(a)(2). Such sales are counted as part of the annual gross volume in the period in which the transaction between the cemetery and the burial society or fraternal organization is completed. Any interest from trust funds or other investments also is not recognized as retail receipts under section 13(a)(2).
Automobile, Truck and Farm Implement Sales and Services, and Trailer, Boat and Aircraft Sales
§ 779.371 - Some automobile, truck, and farm implement establishments may qualify for exemption under section 13(a)(2).
(a) General. The specific exemption from the provisions of sections 6 and 7 of the Act that was provided in section 13(a)(19) prior to the 1966 amendments for employees of a retail or service establishment which is primarily engaged in the business of selling automobiles, trucks, or farm implements was repealed. However, some such establishments may qualify for exemption from both the minimum wage and overtime pay provisions of the Act under section 13(a)(2) as retail or service establishments. These are establishments whose annual dollar volume is smaller than the amount specified in section 13(a)(2) or in section 3(s)(1) and which meet all the other requirements of section 13(a)(2) (see § 779.337). (Such establishments which do not qualify for exemption under section 13(a)(2) may have certain employees who are exempt only from the overtime pay provisions of the Act under section 13(b)(10). Section 13(b)(10) is applicable not only to automobile, truck, and farm implement dealers but also to dealers in trailers, boats, and aircraft. The section 13(b)(10) exemption is discussed in § 779.372 below.)
(b) Application of the 75-percent test. In determining whether, under the section 13(a)(2) exemption, 75 percent of an automobile, truck, or farm implement establishment's sales of goods or services are not for resale and are recognized as retail, the requirements for such classification, including the existence of a retail concept, as explained previously in this subpart, and the specific applications in the industry of these requirements in accordance with the following principles, will govern the classification of sales made by such establishments. The sales of goods or services described in paragraph (c) of this section and in paragraphs (e)(1) through (5) of this section may not be counted toward the required 75 percent. Such sales do not qualify as retail because they either are for resale, are outside the retail concept, or have been determined to lack the requisite recognition as retail sales or services. Other sales of goods or services by the dealer can qualify if they meet the requirements previously explained.
(c) Nonretail automobile and truck sales and servicing. None of the following sales of automobiles, trucks, automotive parts, accessories, servicing and repair work will be considered as retail:
(1) Sales for resale. For example, sales of new or used automobiles and trucks, tires, accessories or services, to service stations, repair shops and automobile or truck dealers, where these establishments resell the various items or where they use them in repairing customers' vehicles or in reconditioning used cars for resale, are sales for resale. (Note that a “sale” for purposes of the Act need not be for profit under section 3(k) it includes any “exchange * * * or other disposition”.) However, internal transfers of such items between departments within the dealer's establishment, such as transfers of parts from the parts department to the service department of an automobile dealer's establishment, will not be considered sales for resale. Such transfers from one department to another will be disregarded in computing the establishment's sales for determining the applicability of this exemption.
(2) Sales made pursuant to a formal invitation to bid. Such sales are made under a procedure involving the issuance by the buyer of a formal invitation to bid on certain merchandise for delivery in accordance with prescribed terms and specifications. Sales to the Federal, State, and local governments are typically made in this manner.
(3) Fleet sales. Sales in a fleet quantity for business purposes (a sale of five or more cars or trucks at a time, for example); and sales to fleet accounts as described in paragraphs (c)(3) (i) and (ii) of this section. (As here used, a “fleet account” is a customer operating five or more automobiles or trucks for business purposes.)
(i) Automobiles and trucks. Sales and term leases of automobiles and trucks to national fleet accounts as designated by the various automotive manufacturers, at fleet discounts, and sales and term leases to other fleet accounts at discounts equivalent to those provided in sales to national fleet owners are not recognized as retail.
(ii) Automotive parts and accessories. Sales of parts and accessories to fleet accounts at wholesale prices are not recognized as retail. Wholesale prices are prices equivalent to, or less than, those typically charged on sales for resale.
(4) Sales and term leases of specialized heavy motor vehicles or bodies (16,000 pounds and over gross vehicle weight) and of tires, parts, and accessories designed for use on such specialized equipment. The following is a partial list illustrating the types of items of equipment not considered to qualify as subjects of retail sale:
(i) Single unit trucks, including:
Armored (money carrying). Buses (integral). Coal. Drilling. Dump. Hook and ladder (fire department). Chemical wagons (fire department). Garbage. Mixer. Refrigerator. Special public utility. Steel haulers. Street-cleaning. Tank. Wrecker.(ii) Full trailers and semitrailers (tractors and semitrailer and truck and trailer combinations), including:
Auto carrier. Coal. Dump. Garbage. House carrier. Low bed carry all. Pole (lumber). Refrigerator. Tank. Van.(5) Sales of servicing and repair work peculiar to the servicing and repair of specialized vehicles referred to in paragraph (c)(4) of this section, or performed under a fleet maintenance arrangement on trucks and other automotive vehicles whereby the establishment undertakes to maintain a customer's fleet at a price below the prevailing retail prices.
(6) Sales to motor carriers of services, fuel, equipment, or other goods or facilities by establishments commonly referred to as truck stops. Such establishments, which are physically laid out and specially equipped to meet the highway needs of the motor transportation industry, offer a variety of services to truckers on a “one-stop” basis, and provide services principally to motor carriers and their crews. They are an integral part of the interstate transportation industry and are not within the traditional retail establishments (see paragraphs (c) (4) and (5) of this section).
(7) Sales of diesel fuel (and LP gas) for use as truck or bus fuel and the repair and servicing of trucks and buses used in over-the-road commercial transportation (including parts and accessories for such vehicles) are specialized goods and services “which can never be sold at retail * * * whatever the terms of the sale.” (Idaho Sheet Metal Works, Inc. v. Wirtz, 383 U.S. 190, 202, rehearing denied 383 U.S. 963; Wirtz v. Steepleton General Tire Company, Inc., 383 U.S. 190, 202, rehearing denied 383 U.S. 963.) Sales of these items are nonretail whether made by truck stops or other establishments (see paragraphs (c) (4) and (5) of this section).
(d) Nonspecialized truck parts, accessories and services. Sales of parts and accessories which are of the type used by small trucks engaged in local transportation or by farm vehicles and are not nonretail under paragraph (c)(6) of this section will be tested under paragraphs (b) and (c)(3) (ii) of this section, even when made on occasion for use in larger vehicles. Likewise, repairs and servicing of a minor nature (such as tire repair, battery recharging, cleaning of fuel lines, or minor electrical rewiring) performed on any type vehicle will be considered retail in nature unless nonretail under paragraph (c)(6) of this section or unless a fleet maintenance arrangement as in paragraph (c)(5) of this section is present.
(e) Farm implement sales. Sales of farm machinery, such as equipment necessary for plowing, planting, thinning, weeding, fertilizing, irrigating, and harvesting of crops, and raising of livestock on the farm, and the repair work thereon, will be considered as retail (whether sold to farmers or nonfarmers) when they satisfy the tests referred to in paragraph (b) of this section. The following, which fail to satisfy these tests, must be classified as nonretail:
(1) Sales for resale. For example, sales of new or used machinery, parts, accessories or services to service stations, repair shops and other dealers, where these establishments resell these items or where they use them in repairing customers' farm implements or in reconditioning used farm implements for resale, are sales for resale. However, this does not apply to internal transfers of such items between departments within the dealer's establishment. Transfers of parts from the parts department to the service department of a farm implement dealer's establishment will not be considered sales for resale, and will be disregarded in computing the establishment's sales for determining the applicability of the section 13(a)(2) exemption.
(2) Sales made pursuant to formal invitation to bid. Such sales are made under a procedure involving the issuance by the buyer of a formal invitation to bid on certain merchandise for delivery in accordance with prescribed terms and specifications. Sales to Federal, State and local governments are typically made in this manner.
(3) Sales of specialized equipment not ordinarily used by farmers, such as:
Bulldozers. Scrapers. Land levelers. Graders. Cotton ginning machinery. Canning and packing equipment.(4) Sales of junk.
(5) Sales of machinery or equipment which are sold “installed”, where the installation involves construction work. Installations which require extensive planning, labor and use of specialized equipment ordinarily constitute construction work. In such cases the cost of installation ordinarily is substantial in relation to the cost of the goods installed.
(f) Quantity sales to farmers. It should be noted that the concept of fleet sales discussed in paragraphs (c)(3) and (5) of this section is not applied to sales to farmers, even though the farmer uses five or more vehicles on his farm.
(g) Particular activities which lack a retail concept. Any receipts derived from warehousing, construction, including water well drilling, or manufacturing activities performed by the automobile, truck, or farm implement dealer are not receipts from retail sales. These activities and the manufacturing of farm implements are not retail activities.
§ 779.372 - Nonmanufacturing establishments with certain exempt employees under section 13(b)(10).
(a) General. A specific exemption from only the overtime pay provisions of section 7 of the Act is provided in section 13(b)(10) for certain employees of nonmanufacturing establishments engaged in the business of selling automobiles, trucks, farm implements, trailers, boats, or aircraft. Section 13(b)(10)(A) states that the provisions of section 7 shall not apply with respect to “any salesman, partsman, or mechanic primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles, trucks, or farm implements, if he is employed by a nonmanufacturing establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling such vehicles or implements to ultimate purchasers.” Section 13(b)(10)(B) states that the provisions of section 7 shall not apply with respect to “any salesman primarily engaged in selling trailers, boats, or aircraft, if he is employed by a nonmanufacturing establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling trailers, boats, or aircraft to ultimate purchasers.” This exemption will apply irrespective of the annual dollar volume of sales of the establishment or of the enterprise of which it is a part.
(b) Character of establishment and employees exempted. (1) An establishment will qualify for this exemption if the following two tests are met:
(i) The establishment must not be engaged in manufacturing; and
(ii) The establishment must be primarily engaged in the business of selling automobiles, trucks, or farm implements to the ultimate purchaser for section 13(b)(10)(A) to apply. If these tests are met by an establishment the exemption will be available for salesmen, partsmen and mechanics, employed by the establishment, who are primarily engaged during the work week in the selling or servicing of the named items. Likewise, the establishment must be primarily engaged in the business of selling trailers, boats, or aircraft to the ultimate purchaser for the section 13(b)(10)(B) exemption to be available for salesmen employed by the establishment who are primarily engaged during the work week in selling these named items. An explanation of the term “employed by” is contained in §§ 779.307 through 779.311. The exemption is intended to apply to employment by such an establishment of the specified categories of employees even if they work in physically separate buildings or areas, or even if, though working in the principal building of the dealership, their work relates to the work of physically separate buildings or areas, so long as they are employed in a department which is functionally operated as part of the dealership.
(2) This exemption, unlike the former exemption in section 13(a)(19) of the Act prior to the 1966 amendments, is not limited to dealerships that qualify as retail or service establishments nor is it limited to establishments selling automobiles, trucks, and farm implements, but also includes dealers in trailers, boats, and aircraft.
(c) Salesman, partsman, or mechanic. (1) As used in section 13(b)(10)(A), a salesman is an employee who is employed for the purpose of and is primarily engaged in making sales or obtaining orders or contracts for sale of the automobiles, trucks, or farm implements that the establishment is primarily engaged in selling. As used in section 13(b)(10)(B), a salesman is an employee who is employed for the purpose of and is primarily engaged in making sales or obtaining orders or contracts for sale of trailers, boats, or aircraft that the establishment is primarily engaged in selling. Work performed incidental to and in conjunction with the employee's own sales or solicitations, including incidental deliveries and collections, is regarded as within the exemption.
(2) As used in section 13(b)(10)(A), a partsman is any employee employed for the purpose of and primarily engaged in requisitioning, stocking, and dispensing parts.
(3) As used in section 13(b)(10)(A), a mechanic is any employee primarily engaged in doing mechanical work (such as get ready mechanics, automotive, truck, or farm implement mechanics, used car reconditioning mechanics, and wrecker mechanics) in the servicing of an automobile, truck or farm implement for its use and operation as such. This includes mechanical work required for safe operation, as an automobile, truck, or farm implement. The term does not include employees primarily performing such nonmechanical work as washing, cleaning, painting, polishing, tire changing, installing seat covers, dispatching, lubricating, or other nonmechanical work. Wrecker mechanic means a service department mechanic who goes out on a tow or wrecking truck to perform mechanical servicing or repairing of a customer's vehicle away from the shop, or to bring the vehicle back to the shop for repair service. A tow or wrecker truck driver or helper who primarily performs nonmechanical repair work is not exempt.
(d) Primarily engaged. As used in section 13(b)(10), primarily engaged means the major part or over 50 percent of the salesman's, partsman's, or mechanic's time must be spent in selling or servicing the enumerated vehicles. As applied to the establishment, primarily engaged means that over half of the establishments annual dollar volume of sales made or business done must come from sales of the enumerated vehicles.
Other Establishments for Which Special Exceptions or Exemptions Are Provided
§ 779.381 - Establishments within special exceptions or exemptions.
(a) As stated in § 779.338, the special exceptions provided in the 1961 amendments for hotels, motels, restaurants, hospitals, institutions for the sick, the aged, the mentally ill or defective, and schools for physically or mentally handicapped or gifted children have been removed. Seasonally operated amusement or recreational establishments and motion picture theaters also no longer are specifically exempt under section 13(a)(2), but have specific exemptions set out for them in sections 13(a)(3) and 13(a)(9) of the Act as amended in 1966.
(b) Hotels, motels, and restaurants continue to be eligible for exemption under section 13(a)(2), but must meet all the requirements of that section for exemption in the same manner as other retail or service establishments. However, a special overtime exemption is provided for such establishments, regardless of size, in the first part of section 13(b)(8). Hospitals, residential care establishments, and schools for physically or mentally handicapped or gifted children are specifically excluded by the Act from consideration for exemption under section 13(a)(2); however, residential care establishments are exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the Act under the second part of section 13(b)(8) as long as overtime premium of not less than one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay is paid to him for time worked in excess of 48 hours in the workweek. In addition, section 7(j) of the amended Act provides a special overtime arrangement for hospital employees whereby overtime pay is due an employee after 8 hours in a day or 80 hours in a 14-day work period rather than on the basis of the 7-day workweek as is normally required by the Act. This provision, though, requires an agreement or understanding on the part of both the employer and the employee prior to the performance of the work. See § 778.601 of this chapter.
(c) The amendments of 1966 also repealed the exemption from both the minimum wage and overtime pay provisions which was in the Act for certain food service employees employed by retail or service establishments that were not exempt under section 13(a)(2). This exemption (formerly found in section 13(a)(20) is now an exemption from the overtime provisions only and is set out in section 13(b)(18). Those establishments now excluded by the Act from consideration for exemption under section 13(a)(2) (hospitals, residential care establishments, etc.) may utilize this exemption where they meet the Act's definition of retail or service establishment in the last sentence of section 13(a)(2) and the conditions set out in section 13(b)(18). Likewise, the special exemption for any employee of a retail or service establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling automobiles, trucks, or farm implements was repealed by the 1966 amendments. In its stead the overtime exemption set out in section 13(b)(10) and previously discussed in § 779.372 was provided for certain employees of any nonmanufacturing establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling automobiles, trailers, trucks, farm implements, or aircraft to the ultimate consumer.
(d) A special exemption from the overtime pay requirements is also included in the amended Act for bowling establishments which do not meet the tests under section 13(a)(2) for exemption as a retail or service establishment. Section 13(b)(19) states that the overtime pay requirements of the Act shall not apply with respect to “any employee of a bowling establishment if such employee receives compensation for employment in excess of 48 hours in any workweek at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed.” Unlike the overtime pay exemption in section 13(b)(18), this exemption is not dependent upon the establishment meeting the definition of retail or service establishment.
Hotels and Motels
§ 779.382 - May qualify as exempt 13(a)(2) establishments.
A hotel or motel establishment may qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act. However, the establishment must meet all of the requirements of section 13(a)(2) (see § 779.337). In determining whether an establishment is a retail or service establishment within the meaning of section 13(a)(2) the dollar volume received from the leasing or rental of space to other than transient members of the general public cannot be counted as derived from retail sales of goods or services. Therefore, receipts from tenants who are not transient guests (see § 779.383(c)) must be included in the 25 percent tolerance provided for sales for resale or sales not recognized as retail.
§ 779.383 - “Hotel” and “motel” exemptions under section 13(b)(8).
(a) General. A hotel or motel establishment may qualify for exemption from the Act's overtime pay requirements, even if it is in an enterprise described in section 3(s) and is not exempt under section 13(a)(2) because it exceeds the monetary test for exemption under that section. The first part of section 13(b)(8) provides that the overtime provisions of section 7 of the Act shall not apply with respect to “any employee employed by an establishment which is a hotel, motel * * *.” The 13(b)(8) exemption is applicable irrespective of the annual dollar volume of sales of a hotel or motel establishment or of the enterprise of which it is a part.
(b) Definition of “hotel”. The term hotel as used in section 13(b)(8) means an establishment known to the public as a hotel, which is primarily engaged in providing lodging or lodging and meals for the general public. Included are hotels operated by membership organizations and open to the general public and apartment hotels which provide accommodations for transients. However, an establishment whose income is primarily from providing a permanent place of residence or from providing residential facilities complete with bedrooms and kitchen for leased periods longer than 3 months would not be considered a hotel within the meaning of the Act. An apartment or residential hotel is not considered a hotel for purposes of section 13(b)(8) unless more than half of its annual dollar volume is derived from providing transient guests representative of the general public with lodging or lodging and meals. (See paragraph (c) of this section.) Establishments in which lodging accommodations are not available to the public are not included. Also excluded from the category of hotels are rooming and boarding houses, and private residences commonly known as tourist homes. Resort or other hotels even if they operate seasonally are regarded as hotel. (See Cong. Rec., August 25, 1966, pages 19729-19732; Cong Rec., August 26, 1966, pages 19907-19911.)
(c) “Transient guests”. In determining who are “transient guests” within the meaning of § 779.382 and paragraph (b) of this section, as a general rule the Department of Labor would consider as transient a guest who is free to come and go as he pleases and who does not sojourn in the establishment for a specified time or permanently. A transient is one who is entertained from day to day without any express contract or lease and whose stay is indefinite although to suit his convenience it may extend for several weeks or a season.
(d) Definition of “motel”. The term motel as used in section 13(b)(8) means an establishment which provides services similar to that of a “hotel” described in paragraph (b) of this section, but which caters mostly to the motoring public, providing it with motor car parking facilities either adjacent to the room or cabin rented or at some other easily accessible place. Included in the term “motel” are those establishments known to the public as motor hotels, motor lodges, motor courts, motor inns, tourist courts, tourist lodges and the like.
(e) Hotel and motel establishments engaged in other activities. The primary function of a hotel or motel is to provide lodging facilities to the public. In addition, most hotels or motels provide food for their guests and many sell alcoholic beverages. These establishments also may engage in some minor revenue producing activities; such as, the operation of valet services offering cleaning and laundering service for the garments of their guests, news stands, hobby shops, the renting out of their public rooms for meetings, lectures, dances, trade exhibits and weddings. The exception provided for “hotels” and “motels” in section 13(b)(8) will not be defeated simply because a “hotel” or a “motel” engages in all or some of these activities, if it is primarily engaged in providing lodging facilities, food and drink to the public.
Motion Picture Theaters
§ 779.384 - May qualify as exempt establishments.
Section 13(a)(9) of the Act as amended in 1966 exempts from the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements “any employee employed by an establishment which is a motion picture theater.” This exemption will be applicable irrespective of the annual dollar volume of sales of such establishment or of the enterprise of which it is a part. A motion picture theater may also qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act if the establishment meets all requirements of the exemption, discussed above in §§ 779.337 to 779.341. The term “motion picture theater” as used in section 13(a)(9) means a commercially operated theater primarily engaged in the exhibition of motion pictures with or without vaudeville presentations. It includes “drive-in motion picture theaters” commonly known as “open air” or “drive-in” theaters, but does not include such incidental exhibition of motion pictures as those offered to passengers on aircraft. “Legitimate theaters” primarily engaged in exhibiting stage productions are not “motion picture theaters.”
Seasonal Amusement or Recreational Establishments
§ 779.385 - May qualify as exempt establishments.
An amusement or recreational establishment operating on a seasonal basis may qualify as an exempt establishment under section 13(a)(3) of the Act, added by the 1966 amendments, even if it does not meet all the requirements of the 13(a)(2) exemption. Section 13(a)(3) exempts from the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements of the Act “any employee employed by an establishment which is an amusement or recreational establishment, if (a) it does not operate for more than seven months in any calendar year or (b) during the preceding calendar year, its average receipts for any 6 months of the year were not more than 33 1/3 percentum of its average receipts for the other 6 months of such year”. “Amusement or recreational establishments” as used in section 13(a)(3) are establishments frequented by the public for its amusement or recreation and which are open for 7 months or less a year or which meet the seasonal receipts test provided in clause (B) of the exemption. Typical examples of such are the concessionaires at amusement parks and beaches. (S. Rept. 145, 87th Cong., first session, p. 28; H. Rept. 75, 87th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 10.)
Restaurants and Establishments Providing Food And Beverage Service
§ 779.386 - Restaurants may qualify as exempt 13(a)(2) establishments.
(a) A restaurant may qualify as an exempt retail or service establishment under section 13(a)(2) of the Act. However, the establishment must meet all of the requirements of section 13(a)(2) (see § 779.337). It should be noted that a separate exemption from the overtime pay provisions of the Act only is provided in section 13(b)(18) for certain food service employees employed by establishments other than restaurants if the establishment meets the definition of a retail or service establishment as defined in the last sentence of section 13(a)(2). Privately owned and operated restaurants conducted as separate and independent business establishments in industrial plants, office buildings, government installations, hospitals, or colleges, such as were involved in McComb v. Factory Stores, 81 F. Supp. 403 (N.D. Ohio) continue to be exempt under section 13(a)(2) where the tests of the exemption are met (S. Rept. 145, 87th Cong., first session, p. 28; H. Rept. 75, 87th Cong., first session, p. 10). However, they would not be met if the food service is carried on as an activity of the larger, nonretail establishment in which the facility is located and there is no independent, separate and distinct place of business offering the restaurant service to individual customers from the general public, who purchase the meals selected by them directly from the establishment which serves them. An establishment serving meals to individuals, pursuant to a contract with an organization or person paying for such meals because the latter has assumed a contractual obligation to furnish them to the individuals concerned, is selling to such organization or firm, and the sales are for resale within the meaning of section 13(a)(2). See also § 779.387.
§ 779.387 - “Restaurant” exemption under section 13(b) (8).
(a) As amended in 1966, the Act, in section 13(b) (8), exempts from its overtime pay provisions “any employee employed by an establishment which is a * * * restaurant”. The term restaurant as used in section 13(b)(8) of the Act means an establishment which is primarily engaged in selling and serving to purchasers at retail prepared food and beverages for immediate consumption on the premises. This includes such establishments commonly known as lunch counters, refreshment stands, cafes, cafeterias, coffee shops, diners, dining rooms, lunch rooms, or tea rooms. The term “restaurant” does not include drinking establishments, such as bars or cocktail lounges, whose sales of alcoholic beverages exceed the receipts from sales of prepared foods and nonalcoholic beverages. Certain food or beverage service employees of establishments such as bars and cocktail lounges, however, may be exempt under section 13(b)(18).
(b) Not all places where food is served for immediate consumption on the premises are “restaurant” establishments within the meaning of section 13(b)(8). Such service is sometimes provided as an incidental activity of an establishment of another kind, rather than by an establishment possessing the physical and functional characteristics of a separate place of business engaged in restaurant operations. In such event, the establishment providing the meal service is not an establishment “which is” a restaurant as section 13(b)(8) requires for exemption. Further, not every place which serves meals, even if it should qualify as a separate food service establishment, possesses the characteristics of a “restaurant.” The meals served by restaurants are characteristically priced, offered, ordered, and served for consumption by and paid for by the customer on an individual meal basis. A restaurant functions principally, and not merely incidentally, to meet the immediate needs and desires of the individual customer for refreshment at the particular time that he visits the establishment for the purpose. A separate transaction to accommodate these needs and desires takes place on the occasion of each such visit. A “restaurant”, therefore, is to be distinguished from an establishment offering meal service on a boarding or term basis or providing such service only as an incident to the operation of an enterprise of another kind and primarily to meet institutional needs for continuing meal service to persons whose continued presence is required for such operation. Accordingly, a boarding house is not a “restaurant” within the meaning of section 13(b)(8), nor are the dining facilities of a boarding school, college or university which serve its students and faculty, nor are the luncheon facilities provided for private and public day school students, nor are other institutional food service facilities providing long-term meal service to stable groups of individuals as an incident to institutional operations in a manner wholly dissimilar to the typical transactions between a restaurant and its customers.
§ 779.388 - Exemption provided for food or beverage service employees.
(a) A special exemption is provided in section 13(b)(18) of the Act for certain food or beverage service employees of retail or service establishments. This section excludes from the overtime pay provisions in section 7 of the Act, “any employee of a retail or service establishment who is employed primarily in connection with the preparation or offering of food or beverages for human consumption, either on the premises, or by such services as catering, banquet, box lunch, or curb or counter service, to the public, to employees, or to members or guests of members of clubs.” This is an employee exemption, intended to apply to employees engaged in the named activities for such establishments as “drug stores, department stores, bowling alleys, and the like.” (S. Rept. No. 1487, 89th Cong., second session, p. 32.)
(b) The 13(b)(18) exemption will apply only if the following two tests are met:
(1) The employee must be an employee of a retail or service establishment (as defined in section 13(a)(2) of the Act); and
(2) The employee must be employed primarily in connection with the specified food or beverage service activities. If both of the above criteria are met, the employee is exempt from the overtime pay provisions of the Act.
(c) The establishment by which the employee is employed must be a “retail or service establishment.” This term is defined in section 13(a)(2) of the Act and the definition is quoted in § 779.24; the application of the definition is considered at length earlier in this subpart. In accordance with this definition, the establishment will be a “retail or service establishment” for purposes of section 13(b) (18) if 75 percent or more of the establishment's annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services (or of both) is not for resale and is recognized as retail sales or services in the particular industry.
(d) If the establishment comes within the above definition it is immaterial that the establishment is in an enterprise or part of an enterprise described in section 3(s). Thus section 13(b)(18) will be applicable regardless of the annual dollar volume of sales of the establishment or of the enterprise of which it is a part. It should also be noted that it is not required that the establishment make more than 50 percent of its annual dollar volume of sales within the State in which it is located. The establishment by which the employee is employed, provided it qualifies as a “retail or service establishment,” may be a drug store, department store, cocktail lounge, night club, and the like.
(e) This exemption does not apply to employees of the ordinary bakery or grocery store who handle, prepare or sell food or beverages for human consumption since such food or beverages are not prepared or offered for consumption “on the premises, or by such services as catering, banquet, box lunch, or curb or counter service * * *.”
(f) If the establishment by which the employee is employed is a “retail or service establishment,” as explained above, he will be exempt under section 13(b)(18) provided he is employed primarily in connection with the preparation or offering of food or beverages for human consumption either on the premises, or by such services as catering, banquet, box lunch, or curb or counter service, to the public, to employees, or to members or guests of members of clubs. An employee employed in the actual preparation or serving of the food or beverages or in activities closely related and directly essential to the preparation and serving will be regarded as engaged in the described activities. The exemption, therefore, extends not only to employees actually cooking, packaging or serving food or beverages, but also to employees such as cashiers, hostesses, dishwashers, busboys, and cleanup men. Also, where the food or beverages are served away from the establishment, the exemption extends to employees of the retail or service establishment who make ready the serving place, serve the food, clean up, and transport the equipment, food and beverages to and from the serving place.
(g) For the exemption to apply, the employee must be engaged “primarily” in performing the described activities. A sales clerk in a drug store, department store or other establishment, who as an incident to his other duties, occasionally prepares or otherwise handles food or beverages for human consumption on the premises will not come within the scope of this exemption. The exemption is intended for employees who devote all or most of their time to the described food or beverage service activities. For administrative purposes this exemption will not be considered defeated for an employee in any workweek in which he devotes more than one-half of his time worked to such activities.