The word ``establishment'' has long been interpreted by the
Department of Labor and the courts to mean a distinct physical place of
business and not to include all the places of business which may be
operated by an organization (Phillips v. Walling, 334 U.S. 490; Mitchell
v. Bekins Van and Storage Co., 352 U.S. 1027). Thus, in the case of a
business organization which operates a number of country elevators (see
Tobin v. Flour Mills, 185 F. 2d 596), each individual elevator or other
place of business would constitute an establishment, within the meaning
of the Act. Country elevators are usually one-unit places of business
with, in some cases, an adjoining flat warehouse. No problem exists of
determining what is the establishment in such cases. However, where
separate facilities are used by a country elevator, a determination must
be made, based on their proximity to the elevator and their relationship
to its operations, on whether the facilities and the elevator are one or
more than one establishment. If there are more than one, it must be
determined by which establishment the employee is employed and whether
that establishment meets the requirements of section 13(b)(14) before
the application of the exemption to the employee can be ascertained
(compare Mitchell v. Cammill, 245 F. 2d 207; Remington v. Shaw (W.D.
Mich.), 2 WH Cases 262).
