Compressing 30. This term is generally applied to the cotton industry only and the legislative history indicates that it was so intended by Congress. It includes the operations of receiving and weighing the baled cotton lint at the compressing establishment, placing the baled cotton lint in the presses, operating the presses, tying steel bands around the bales, and removing the bales from the presses. It is our opinion that the term does not apply to the pressing of a commodity in order to extract an oil, juice, or syrup therefrom. Hence, the extraction of oil, juice, or syrup from cottonseed, flaxseed, tung nuts, peanuts, soybeans, fruits or vegetables, sugarcane, sugar beets, rice, etc., does not fall within the exemption. Pasteurizing 81. This term usually refers to an operation performed upon milk or cream. It consists of heating the fluid milk or cream, holding it at a high temperature, and then cooling it. The placing of the milk or cream into bottles would also seem to be included in the term. Drying 32. The operations included in this term appear to be those performed on agricultural or horticultural commodities in order to remove or lower their moisture content. Such operations may be performed by natural methods or by exposure to heat from ovens, furnaces, etc. Typically, these operations are performed on fruits, vegetables, hay, and tobacco. The term does not include drying operations which take place on commodities that have ceased to be agricultural commodities within the meaning of section 13 (a) (10) because their natural form has previously been changed. Thus, the drying of eggs that have been broken and separated and the drying of tobacco that has been stemmed are not included within the exemption. Preparing in Their Raw or Natural State 83. The operations included in this term may be any of a large number that are performed in connection with many different kinds of agricultural or horticultural commodities. They do not include operations which change the form of the commodity or which are performed after the commodity leaves its raw or natural state. The following examples will prove helpful in determining whether particular operations are included in the term: 1. Eggs.-Candling, sizing, grading, and cooling are included. Breaking, separating, mixing, and freezing are not included. 2. Fruits and vegetables.-Cleaning, washing, polishing, grading, sizing, sorting, hand-picking, coloring, cooling, and wrapping are included. Shelling, peeling, pickling, squeezing, pressing, cutting, and similar operations where the form of the commodities is changed are not included. Thus, the manufacture of preserves from fruits is not included. 3. Grain, seeds, or forage crops.-Cleaning, hand-picking, sorting, grading, fumigating, and mixing are included. Cracking, grinding, crushing, or milling are not included. The manufacture of animal feeds and the manufacture of straw paper from wheat straw are also not included. 4. Nuts-Sizing, grading, sorting, and cleaning the unshelled nuts are included. Cracking, picking, shelling, or roasting the nuts and cleaning, sorting, and roasting the nut meats or manufacturing them into peanut butter are not included. 5. Tobacco-Stripping, i. e., pulling the tobacco leaves from the stalk, tying the tobacco leaves into hands, grading, and sorting are included. 6. Wool.-Cleaning and grading are included. Curing is not included. 7. Fur.-Cleaning the raw fur is included. 8. Hemp.-Decortication is not included. 9. Nursery stock.-Cleaning and grading are included. Canning 84. The term "canning" is commonly understood to mean hermetically sealing and sterilizing or pasteurizing. Such sterilization or pasteurization is an integral part of the canning process. The term includes the necessary preparatory operations performed on agricultural or horticultural commodities before the commodities are placed in bottles, cans, or other hermetically sealed containers, as well as those of physically transferring the commodities to the bottles, cans, etc. These operations may include all types of preparations of the product such as heating, cooking, peeling, squeezing, cutting, cleaning, mixing, etc. Sealing or labeling the cans, as well as placing the cans in cases or boxes, are also included. The canning of marmalade, chili, tamales, meat products, poultry products, vinegar, beer, etc., is not an exempt operation, however, for at least a substantial part of the ingredients used in such canning are not agricultural commodities within the meaning of section 13 (a) (10). (See par. 25, fourth.) Making Cheese or Butter or Other Dairy Products 35. According to the "Agricultural Statistics-1938" of the United States Department of Agriculture, the following constitute the vast bulk of milk and dairy products produced in this country: Unsweetened condensed milk (plain Dried or powdered buttermilk. The operations performed in preparing and making the foregoing products and placing them in containers are included in the term "making cheese or butter or other dairy products.' The term does not include, however, the processing of casein, for that is not the making of a dairy product. Nor does the term include the sorting, printing, wrapping, packing, and storing of butter or cheese which is bought in bulk by dealers from creameries. That does not seem to be "making * * butter." Other Nonexempt Operations 36. Some other operations, which, in our opinion, are not included within the exemption provided by section 13 (a) (10), are the making of cigars, cigarettes, plug, chewing, or pipe tobacco, the slaughtering, picking or dressing of poultry, the slaughtering or dressing of livestock, the grinding of sugarcane, the roasting of coffee, and the manufacture of potato starch and potato flour. Employees Engaged in Both Exempt and Nonexempt Operations 37. Questions have been presented as to whether an employee who devotes part of his time to an activity described in this section and part of his time to a nonexempt operation is entitled to the benefit of the exemption. It is our opinion that in such case the employee is not entitled to the exemption. Of course, if the employee is engaged in certain workweeks in only the exempt operation, he is entitled to the exemption during such workweeks. Manufacture of Packages or Containers 38. The manufacture of packages or containers used in the shipment of agricultural or horticultural commodities is not among the practices described in either section 7 (c) or section 13 (a) (10), regardless of how necessary such manufacture may be to the distribution of the commodities mentioned in said sections. An amendment to the act, which was introduced on the floor of the House, designed to exempt the employees engaged in such manufacture, was rejected. U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1940 |