Walling v. James V. Reuter, Inc.

49 F. Supp. 485, 1943 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2903
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedMarch 31, 1943
DocketCiv. A. No. 578
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 49 F. Supp. 485 (Walling v. James V. Reuter, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Walling v. James V. Reuter, Inc., 49 F. Supp. 485, 1943 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2903 (E.D. La. 1943).

Opinion

BORAH, District Judge.

This is a suit brought by the Administrator to enjoin respondent from violating provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 52 Stat. 1060, 29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq. The material facts are these:

Findings of Fact

1. The defendant is, and at all times since October 24, 1938, the effective date of the minimum wage, overtime compensation, and record-keeping requirements established by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 52 Stat. 1060, 29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq., hereinafter referred to as the Act, has been a corporation existing by virtue of the laws of the State of Louisiana, with its principal office and place of business at 817 Decatur Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, where it engages in purchasing, receiving, handling, selling, and distributing, at wholesale, fresh vegetables, fruits, and1 similar produce. Defendant employs from 10 to 15 employees, including office help, warehousemen, truck drivers, and laborers in carrying on its business.

2. Defendant, purchases approximate^ly 50% of the produce handled by it from [487]*487out-of-state sources. These produce are usually shipped to it by railroad, in carload and half-carload lots, and the refrigerated cars carrying the goods are switched to a siding approximately one block from defendant’s place of business, known as the “Reuter Switch”. An average of twelve to twenty freight cars a month, carrying produce consigned to defendant, arrive at the “Reuter Switch” from points outside of the State of Louisiana.

3. All the vegetables and produce arriving from out-of-state sources are unloaded from the freight cars and brought to defendant’s place of business to be uncrated and examined before being sold. Defendant’s employees, principally a carman and truck drivers and occasionally warehouse-men unload the produce from the freight cars and truck it to defendant’s place of business. The carman spends the greater portion of his time engaged in the unloading operations. Truck drivers usually spend one and one-half hours a day, sometimes longer, in unloading freight cars and hauling the produce to defendant’s place of business.

4. Defendant sells its produce to other wholesalers and to retail merchants in Louisiana and other states. Though the bulk of goods is sold to local merchants, substantial out-of-state sales amounting to approximately 5% of the total yearly sales rare made to out-of-state customers. In the year 1939 out of total sales amounting to '$201,829, the sales to out-of-state customers .amounted to $11,450. In the year 1940, total sales aggregated $198,994, with out-of-•state sales amounting to $15,885. In 1941 •and 1942, total sales aggregated $245,084 and $448,758, respectively, while out-of-state sales for those years were $12,028 and .$18,915.

5. Defendant’s warehouse employees •sort, select, repackage, and handle produce rreceived without distinction as to its ultimate destination. Orders are made up ■from stock on hand, and an average of •.twelve a day are shipped to out-of-state customers. Usually a Railway Express ■Company truck comes by defendant’s place ■of .business each day, and the out-of-state ■orders are loaded ther.eon by the defendants employees.

¡6. In the normal course of its business, •defendant also sells substantial amounts of vegetables and produce to ship chandlers. 'Such sales occur every week. The ship •chandlers purchase the ¡produce to provision boats for ocean-going voyages, and usually in amounts sufficient to last until the boats reach their next port of call. The bulk of the produce purchased by ship chandlers is picked up by them in their own trucks at defendant’s place of business. However, defendant’s own truck drivers frequently deliver orders for boats docked in the New Orleans Harbor. Sometimes these orders are just unloaded at the docks, sometimes they are unloaded onto runners and onto winches and immediately pulled or hoisted aboard the boat. On rare occasions the defendant’s employees carry the produce on the boats themselves. The ship chandlers who purchase these produce do not specifically advise defendant of the destination and proposed use thereof.

7. Because of their perishable nature, there is a very rapid turnover of the produce and goods handled by defendant. In general, all goods received from out-of-state sources are unloaded, examined, sorted, repackaged, sold and delivered within one to five days after they are acquired by defendant. This rapidity of movement is exemplified by defendant’s custom of using the refrigerated freight cars in which goods are received as a temporary night storage place for produce-that may be on hand at the end of the day. The freight cars are always fully unloaded and released within two to five days after arrival.

8. During the period from October 24, 1938 to July 1940, defendant paid many of its employees rates less than the prevailing minima of 25¡é and 30¡á per hour specified by the Act. Defendant’s books during this period show only the total weekly salaries paid to employees. The hours worked by warehousemen, carmen, and truck drivers, ranging from 55 to 75 hours a week, were far in excess of what their salaries would cover at the minimum rates pre'scribed by the Act.

After July, 1940 defendant’s records were changed and purported to show that employees received at least the minimum wage for all hours worked. However, I find that employees worked longer hours than were credited to them on defendant’s books, and as a consequence still were receiving less than the minimum wage prescribed.

9. From October 24, 1938 until July, 1940 defendant paid no additional amounts for overtime compensation for hours in excess of 44 and 42 per week. Office and warehouse employees who were entitled to overtime compensation because of the long [488]*488hours they worked during this period received none.

After July 1940 defendant’s books purport to show overtime payments to some employees but since employees worked longer hours than they were credited with by defendant their compensation did not adequately cover the overtime work done by them at the overtime rate prescribed by the Act.

10. From October 24, 1938 until July, 1940 defendant kept no daily or weekly records of the hours worked by its employees as required by the Administrator’s Regulations.

After July, 1940 defendant kept what purported to be time records for employees, but I find that employees were not actually Credited with all hours which they worked.

11. As a result of several inspections made by the Wage and Hour Division during the period involved in this suit, defendant was well aware of the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. However, defendant has consistently contested the applicability of the Act to its employees and has taken the position in this suit that the coverage of the Act does not extend to a wholesaler operating its business in the manner in which the defendant operates.

Conclusions of Law

1. The court has jurisdiction of the parties hereto and of the subject matter of this action. 29 U.S.C.A. § 217.

2. Those employees of defendant who unloaded produce from freight cars coming from out-of-state sources; those who hauled such produce from the freight cars to defendant’s place of business and there unloaded it;1 those who prepared and shipped orders to out-of-state customers;2

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Related

James V. Reuter, Inc. v. Walling
137 F.2d 315 (Fifth Circuit, 1943)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
49 F. Supp. 485, 1943 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2903, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walling-v-james-v-reuter-inc-laed-1943.