In order for a purchaser to be protected under these provisions of
the Act, he must acquire the goods ``in reliance on written assurance *
* *.'' The written assurance specified in section 15(a)(1) is one from
the ``producer'' and in section 12(a) it is one from the ``producer,
manufacturer or dealer.''
Since the acquisition of the goods by the purchaser must be ``in
reliance'' upon such written assurance it is obvious that the Act
contemplates a written assurance given to the purchaser as a part of the
transaction by which the goods are acquired and on which he can rely at
the time of their acquisition. Thus, where the purchaser does not
receive a written assurance at the time he acquires particular goods, he
cannot be said to have acquired the goods ``in reliance on'' the
specified written assurance merely because the producer later furnishes
an assurance that all goods which the purchaser has previously acquired
from him were produced in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The assurances described in the Act are assurances in writing ``from''
the producer or ``from'' the producer, manufacturer, or dealer, as the
case may be. It is therefore clear that the following procedures will
not amount to ``written assurance from the producer'' within the meaning
of the Act:
(a) The purchaser stamps his purchase order with the statement that
the order is valid only for goods produced in compliance with the
requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. No written statement
concerning the production of the goods is made to the purchaser by the
producer. The producer ships the goods which the purchaser has ordered.
(b) The purchaser stamps the above statement on his purchase order
and in addition notifies the producer that shipment of the goods so
ordered will be construed by the purchaser as a guarantee by the
producer that the goods were produced in compliance with the Act. The
producer ships the goods to the purchaser.
In neither of these situations can the purchase order be deemed to
contain a written assurance from the producer to the purchaser. A
statement concerning the circumstances under which the order will be
valid is sent to the producer, but no written instrument at all is given
the purchaser by the producer. Although, in these situations, the
shipment of the goods by the producer may establish a contractual
relationship between the parties, the conditions of the statute are not
satisfied because there is in neither situation any written assurance
from the producer to the purchaser that the goods were produced in
compliance with applicable provisions of the Act referred to in sections
12(a) and 15(a)(1).
