(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. 19 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).
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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.
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(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.
(b) The phrase ``situated in the United States'' is construed to
include any of the 50 States or the District of Columbia or any
Territory or possession of the United States.
