The coverage, exemption and other provisions of the Act depend, in
part, on the scope of the terms employer, establishment, or enterprise.
As explained more fully in part 776 of this chapter, these terms are not
synonymous. The term employer has been defined in the Act since its
inception and has a well established meaning. As defined in section
3(d), it includes, with certain stated exceptions, any person acting
directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an
employee. (See Sec. 779.19.) The term establishment means a distinct
physical place of business rather than an entire business or enterprise.
(See Sec. 779.23.) The term enterprise was not used in the Act prior to
the 1961 amendments, but the careful definition and the legislative
history of the 1961 and 1966 amendments provide guidance as to its
meaning and application. As defined in the Act, the term enterprise is
roughly descriptive of a business rather than of an establishment or of
an employer although on occasion the three may coincide. The enterprise
may consist of a single establishment (see Sec. 779.204(a)) which may be
operated by one or more employers; or it may be composed of a number of
establishments which may be operated by one or more employers (see
Sec. 779.204(b)). The enterprise is not necessarily coextensive with the
entire business activities of an employer; a single employer may operate
more than one enterprise (see Sec. 779.204(c)). The Act treats as
separate enterprises different businesses which are unrelated to each
other even if they are operated by the same employer.
