Mitchell v. Georgia Broiler Supply, Inc.

186 F. Supp. 341, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3693
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedMay 10, 1960
DocketCiv. A. No. 520
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 186 F. Supp. 341 (Mitchell v. Georgia Broiler Supply, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mitchell v. Georgia Broiler Supply, Inc., 186 F. Supp. 341, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3693 (N.D. Ga. 1960).

Opinion

SLOAN, District Judge.

The above stated action is one brought by the Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor, under the provisions of § 17 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, wherein he seeks to enjoin the defendant from violating the provisions of §§ 15(a) (1), 15 (a) (2) and 15(a) (5) of the Act. The defendant denies that these sections of the Act are applicable to it and contends that its employees, with respect to whose employment plaintiff has asserted violations of the Act, are exempt from the monetary requirements of the Act under the provisions of § 13(a) (6) thereof.

The parties, through their respective counsel, on the 26th day of March, 1960, stipulated and agreed:

1. That plaintiff brings the action under the provisions of §§ 15(a) (1), 15(a) (2) and 15(a) (5) of the Act.

2. That jurisdiction is conferred by § 17 of the Act.

3. That defendant is now, and at all times “hereinafter mentioned” was a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Georgia, having its principal office and place of business at 505 Maple Street, Carrollton, Carroll County, Georgia.

4. That defendant purchases baby chicks and puts them out in chicken houses of various individuals with whom it has an agreement, a copy of such an agreement being attached to the stipulation and made a part thereof and that in the agreement the individual with whom the chicks are placed is called the “lessor” and the defendant is called the “lessee.”

5. Defendant enters into such agreements with individuals in Georgia and Alabama.

6. That when the chicks which are placed in such leased chicken houses under such agreements are ready for market that defendant’s employees go to such houses and catch, coop and load the chickens on trucks of various poultry processing plants located in Georgia and Alabama.

7. That the processing plants which purchase such chickens from defendant process and then sell and ship substantial numbers of such chickens in interstate commerce and that title to such chickens passes from defendant to the purchasing processors upon being loaded upon the trucks as above described.

8. That defendant regularly sold to processing plants approximately 1,500,-000 pounds of chickens each month which were raised, grown and handled as above set forth.

[343]*3439. That at defendant’s establishment at Carrollton, Georgia, it rents the land and building and owns the equipment located therein by which it grinds and mixes poultry feed to be fed exclusively to its own chickens located in the houses and on the property of individuals with whom it has contracts as set out in stipulation 4.

10. That grain and feed concentrates are regularly received at defendant’s feed mill from points in Alabama and Tennessee and are there unloaded by defendant’s employees.

11. That defendant’s feed mill produces about 400 tons of feed per week which is hauled by its employees in defendant’s trucks to the houses where the chickens are placed under such contracts and that such feed is used solely for feeding such chickens and that approximately 10% of such feed is hauled to leased chicken houses in Alabama for feeding to such chickens.

12. That none of the feed ground and mixed at defendant’s mill is disposed of in any manner other than as set forth in stipulation No. 11.

13. That while the chickens are being grown in the houses as set forth above, under such contracts, the defendant sends its employees, including those named in the stipulation, regularly and recurrently to such houses for the purposes of examining the poultry, treating same when necessary, aiding and doctoring same in many various ways such as spraying with antibiotic dust, placing soluble antibiotics in their drinking water, and placing feed in the houses which contains remedial drugs or medicines for defendant’s chickens; that in addition such employees, regularly and recurrently establish, maintain, regulate and control the ventilation and heating of the houses containing its chickens in order to insure the proper health and growth of such chickens and that all drugs, medicines or feed referred to are purchased and paid for by defendant and at all times are its property.

14. That defendant averages contracting for approximately 225 chicken houses in the manner set forth and will average raising 24,000 chickens per year in each of such houses; that the average amount of money paid by defendant to the lessors as rental for such chicken houses and adjoining properties and as compensation for some of the services rendered by the lessors will average approximately 1.90 per pound of poultry which the defendant raises in such leased chicken houses.

15. That defendant employed Melvin Bearden during the period from February 14, 1958 through June 19, 1958, at a salary of $40 per week; from June 20, 1958 through January 2,1959, at a salary of $45 per week; from January 3, 1959 through June 26, 1959, at a salary of $50 per week; from June 27, 1959 through December 31, 1959, at a salary of $55 per week, and from January 1, 1960 “to present date” at a salary of $65 per week; that defendant kept no record of the hours worked each day and each week by this employee and that during this period of employment that such employee went around to the various chicken houses located in Georgia and Alabama where defendant’s chickens were being raised under the described arrangements to check the condition of such chickens, regularly drove defendant’s truck, hauling feed ground and mixed in the defendant’s feed mill to the various chicken houses for feeding to the chickens exclusively and also regularly did some work in defendant’s feed mill sacking feed and sewing sacks; that this employee is exempt from the overtime provisions of the Act under the provisions of § 13(b) (1) thereof.

16. That defendant employed Morris Edson during the period from January 10, 1957 to February 8, 1958, at a salary of $45 per week and from February 8, 1958 to February 7, 1959, at a salary of $50 per week and that during this period defendant kept no records of the hours worked by such employee and that all times this employee worked primarily in driving a truck, hauling defendant’s feed which had been ground and mixed in its mill from such mill to the chicken houses [344]*344located in Alabama and Georgia for feeding to the defendant’s chickens exclusively; that this employee is exempt from the overtime provisions of the Act under the provisions of § 13(b) (1) thereof.

• 17. That defendant employed Harvey Farmer during the period from March 22, 1956 through June 7,1957, at a weekly salary of $42.50; from June 8, 1957 through November 15, 1957, at a weekly salary of $47.50; from November 16, 1957 to February 26, 1959, at a weekly salary of $50 as a mill hand at its feed mill at Carrollton, Georgia, and that this employee helps to unload feed and on occasion helps to haul it to chicken houses located in Georgia and Alabama containing defendant’s chickens and that defendant kept no records of the hours worked by this employee.

18. That defendant employed William E.

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186 F. Supp. 341, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3693, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mitchell-v-georgia-broiler-supply-inc-gand-1960.