Womack v. Consolidated Timber Co.

43 F. Supp. 625, 1941 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2247
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedDecember 1, 1941
DocketNo. 522
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 43 F. Supp. 625 (Womack v. Consolidated Timber Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Womack v. Consolidated Timber Co., 43 F. Supp. 625, 1941 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2247 (D. Or. 1941).

Opinion

JAMES ALGER FEE, District Judge.

This action was filed by plaintiff on his own behalf and as assignee of the claims of other employees of defendant in cookhouses operated by defendant near its logging camps, based upon the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C, A. § 201 et seq. Pre-trial conferences were held and a pre-trial order was signed by the court. Subsequently, the cause was tried by the court without a jury.

The pre-trial order was drafted jointly by the attorneys for the respective parties and is here set out in full as an excellent example of such an order.1 The agreed facts [627]*627are concisely stated and the issues are clear cut for decision, and documents necessary for the determination were marked and listed therein. Such an outstanding consolidated pleading requires special commendation of the draughtsmen.

Shortly stated, the question is whether these employees are covered by the provi[628]*628rsions of 7(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 or are specifically exempt therefrom by the provisions of Section 13.

. Even in an establishment where the employer is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, a par[629]*629ticular employee there who is not so engaged does not fall under the act. Specific exemption is given to all employees “engaged in any retail or service establishment the greater part of whose selling or servicing is in interstate commerce”. 29 U.S.C.A. § 213(a) (2). The applicability of this exemption depends according to orthodox in[630]*630terpretation upon “whether the particular establishment possesses the characteristic of a retail or service establishment”.

The particular employee, then, is not within the act if he is not engaged in commerce or the production of goods for commerce, and is specifically exempted if the establishment in which he works is mostly selling or servicing in intrastate commerce.

The cook, dishwasher or waiter employed by a company to feed a crew producing logs for interstate shipment is an integral part of the crew and is producing goods for commerce under the definition of the act, where the company furnishes the food and makes no deduction therefor from the wages of the timber workers. Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington. Railroad Company v. Smith, 250 U.S. 101, 39 S.Ct. 396, 63 L.Ed. 869, although under a different statute, is persuasive by analogy upon this point.

However, that decision throws no light upon the clear-cut exemption granted by this Act. To the existence of the exemption, the court now turns.

The restaurant, the cafeteria and the roadside diner are each a typical example of a service establishment which is local in character and renders a service to private individuals for direct consumption at a retail price. (Interpretative Bulletin No. 6, Sections 23 and 24). Even though a cafeteria is operated in a factory by employees of a common employer with the factory workers who are producing goods for commerce, it may still be a service establishment. (Interpretative Bulletin No. 6, Section 39).

There are several factors pertinent to each of'these establishments. A cookhouse is a restaurant or roadside diner and, therefore, a typical service establishment. A service was rendered in a physically separate establishment where meals were sold: at retail to, and the facilities of the establishment were placed at the disposal of,, private individuals for direct consumption and use. Persons not in the employment of defendant or companies under contract with-defendant were served upon the same terms, as persons so employed, except that the price was higher for the former. Employees of logging companies under contract with defendant were served. There was no requirement that defendant’s employees pa-' tronize either cookhouse. Those employees who were served in the cookhouse were charged a price for the meals eaten, which [631]*631in the aggregate sustained the establishment but was not above cost. These payments were deducted from the employees’ wages.

Obviously, if either of these cookhouses were operated by an entirely independent concern, it would be designated as a restaurant and would fall in the class of a retail or service establishment. Such a restaurant would do the majority of its selling or servicing in interstate commerce, irrespective of the fact that meals were sold to the employees of one company only. This factor highlights a fundamental problem. The timber worker is a member of the public. As to meals, he is himself a consumer and purchases food at retail as any other member of the consuming public. This is true whether he is employed or unemployed. The fundamental characteristic of a restaurant is sale at retail to the ultimate consumer in intrastate commerce.

But in this case one circumstance should establish the cookhouses as service establishments. The employees in the woods and the union stipulated that these should be operated at cost and should be self-sustaining. Clearly, the employees actually producing goods for commerce recognize thereby that the cookhouses are maintained for their service and convenience. Under this clause, the burden of a.ny increased wages to cookhouse employees would fall upon those who were engaged in producing goods for commerce. The latter are not required to patronize the cookhouse but it is there for their service if they so desire.

If the buckers and fallers were compelled to eat at a cookhouse and the meals were furnished as a part of the pay, a different situation would be presented. These skilled woodsmen who are paid by the hour and who are not boarded by the company must buy food and service thereof. Any increase in the price of board at the cookhouse will be deducted from the money paid them.

To these factors applicable to both cookhouses, there are special circumstances which relate to the establishment at Glen-wood. Although that facility is unquestionably a convenience to the company in keeping the crews fed, it is probably no more so than if it were under entirely independent control. Certainly, it cannot be regarded as a necessary adjunct to defendant’s business. This cookhouse caters to persons not in employment of defendant or companies under contract with it. These persons are comparatively few and are charged a higher price. But there is an independent facility, a lunch counter, also located at Glenwood, which is in competition. While this lunch counter could not under present conditions take care of all the trade were the cookhouse closed, its employees are exempt from the operation of the Act, and the possibility of expansion is a circumstance of weight.

Many employees here own their homes and are thus free from the necessity of boarding outside. Some employees live in other places and own cars. These likewise have a choice.

This cookhouse falls under Section 39 of Interpretative Bulletin No. 6:

“Many concerns provide facilities for their employees. In some cases a company operates in its factory a cafeteria or store which is physically separated from the remainder of the plant and is conducted in the same manner as commonly recognized retail or service establishments which are not affiliated with the company.

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Related

Southern Package Corp. v. Walton
11 So. 2d 912 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1943)
Consolidated Timber Co. v. Womack
132 F.2d 101 (Ninth Circuit, 1942)
Morgan v. Social Security Board
45 F. Supp. 349 (M.D. Pennsylvania, 1942)

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Bluebook (online)
43 F. Supp. 625, 1941 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2247, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/womack-v-consolidated-timber-co-ord-1941.