Code of Federal Regulations Title 29. Labor § 29.570.109 “Establishment situated in the United States”

(a)(1) The statute does not expressly define “establishment.” Accordingly, the term should be given a meaning which is not only consistent with its ordinary usage, but also designed to accomplish the general purposes of the Act. As normally used in business and in Government, the word “establishment” refers to a distinct physical place of business. This is the meaning attributed to the term as it is used in section 13(a)(2) of the Act. [FN19] Since the establishments covered under section 12(a) of the Act are those in which goods are produced, the term “establishment” there refers to a physical place where goods are produced. Typical producing establishments are industrial plants, mines, quarries, and the like. The producing establishment, however, need not have a permanently fixed location as is the case with a factory or mine. A boat, for instance, where productive activities such as catching or canning fish are carried on is considered a producing establishment for purposes of section 12(a).

¹⁹ A. H. Phillips, Inc. v. Walling, 324 U.S. 490. See part 779 (bulletin on the retail and service establishment exemption from the wage and hours provisions) of chapter V of this title.

(2) Frequently, questions arise as to what should be considered a single establishment. No hard and fast rule can be laid down which will fix the area of all establishments. Accordingly, a determination of the area contained in a single establishment must be based upon the facts of each individual situation. Facts which are particularly pertinent in this connection, however, are those which relate to the physical characteristics and the manner of operation and control of the business. Sometimes, an establishment may extend over an area of several square miles as is common with farms, logging enterprises, mines, and quarries. On the other hand, it may be confined to a few square feet. A typical illustration of this is a loft building that houses the workshops of hundreds of independent manufacturing firms. Each of the workshops is, for purposes of this section, a separate establishment.

(3) Similar principles are applicable in determining whether several buildings located on the same premises constitute one establishment or more than one. For example, where several factory buildings are located on the same premises and owned and operated by the same person, they are generally to be considered as a single establishment. On the other hand, factory buildings located on the same premises, but owned and operated by different persons, will not ordinarily be treated as a single establishment. Where the several factories, however, are engaged in a joint productive enterprise, they may constitute a single establishment. This is the case, for example, where a large shipyard contains the plants of a number of subcontractors who are engaged in making parts or equipment for the boats that are built in the yard.