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CFR  

Code of Federal Regulations Pertaining to ESA

Title 29  

Labor

 

Chapter V  

Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor

 

 

Part 779  

The Fair Labor Standards Act As Applied to Retailers of Goods or Services

 

 

 

Subpart C  

Employment to Which the Act May Apply; Enterprise Coverage


29 CFR 779.206 - What are ``related activities.''

  • Section Number: 779.206
  • Section Name: What are ``related activities.''

    (a) The Senate Report on the 1961 amendments states as follows, with 
respect to the meaning of related activities:
    Within the meaning of this term, activities are ``related'' when 
they are the same or similar, such as those of the individual retail or 
service stores in a chain, or departments of an establishment operated 
through leasing arrangements. They are also ``related'' when they are 
auxiliary and service activities such as central office and warehousing 
activities and bookkeeping, auditing, purchasing, advertising and other 
services. Likewise, activities are ``related'' when they are part of a 
vertical structure such as the manufacturing, warehousing, and retailing 
of a particular product or products under unified operation or common 
control for a common business purpose. (Senate Report No. 145, 87th 
Cong., 1st Sess., Page 41.)


Thus, activities will be regarded as ``related'' when they are the same 
or similar or when they are auxiliary or service activities such as 
warehousing, bookkeeping, purchasing, advertising, including, generally, 
all activities which are necessary to the operation and maintenance of 
the particular business. So also, all activities which are performed as 
a part of the unified business operation will be ``related,'' including, 
in appropriate cases, the manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution 
of its goods, the repair and
maintenance of its equipment, machinery and its premises, and all other 
activities which are performed for the common business purpose of the 
enterprise. The Senate Report on the 1966 amendments makes it plain that 
related, even if somewhat different, business activities can frequently 
be part of the same enterprise, and that activities having a reasonable 
connection with the major purpose of an enterprise would be considered 
related. (Senate Report No. 1487, 89th Cong., 2d Sess., Page 7.) A more 
comprehensive discussion of ``related activities'' will be found in part 
776 of this chapter.
    (b) Generally, the answer to the question whether particular 
activities are ``related'' or not, will depend in each case upon whether 
the activities serve a business purpose common to all the activities of 
the enterprise, or whether they serve a separate and unrelated business 
purpose. For example, where a company operates retail or service 
establishments, and also engages in a separate and unrelated 
construction business, the construction activities will not be 
``related'' and will constitute a separate enterprise if they are 
conducted independently and apart from the retail operations. Where, 
however, the retail and construction activities are conducted for a 
common business purpose, they may be ``related,'' and if they are 
performed through unified operation or common control, they will be a 
part of a single enterprise. Thus, a retail store enterprise may engage 
in construction activities as an additional outlet for building 
materials which it sells, or otherwise to serve its retail operations. 
It may act as its own contractor in constructing or reconstructing its 
own stores and related facilities. In such a case, the construction 
activities will be ``related'' activities. Other examples may also be 
cited. The answer in each case will necessarily depend upon all the 
facts.
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