Mitchell v. Molton, Allen & Williams, Inc.
| Decision Date | 04 January 1961 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 9417. |
| Citation | 192 F. Supp. 3 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama |
| Parties | James P. MITCHELL, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor, Plaintiff, v. MOLTON, ALLEN & WILLIAMS, INC., a Corporation, Building Management Corporation, a Corporation, and Industrial Management Corporation, a Corporation; the Public Building Authority of the City of Birmingham and Calder Realty Company, Inc., Defendants. |
Harold C. Nystrom, Acting Solicitor, Washington, D. C., Beverley R. Worrell, Regional Attorney, Birmingham, Ala., and Reuben S. Haslam, Attorney, of U. S. Department of Labor, Washington, D. C., for plaintiff.
White E. Gibson, Jr., of Lange, Simpson, Robinson & Somerville, Birmingham, Ala., for Molton, Allen & Williams, Inc., Building Management Corporation and Industrial Management Corporation.
William S. Pritchard, of Pritchard, McCall & Jones, Birmingham, Ala., for Calder Realty Co.
J. M. Breckenridge, City Atty., Birmingham, Ala., Public Building Authority of City of Birmingham.
Following argument of counsel and a review of the briefs, and based upon the entire record in this case, including the pleadings, depositions and exhibits, and the oral testimony and exhibits, the Court finds:
1. That this action is properly brought by the Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor, under Section 17 of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended, 29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq., for injunctive relief against the defendants, Molton, Allen & Williams, Inc., Building Management Corporation, and the Industrial Management Corporation, from violating the minimum wage, maximum hour, and record keeping provisions of said Act. The Court has jurisdiction of this action and of the parties hereto.
That since October 22, 1956:
2. All office space in the Social Security Building located at 2225 Third Avenue, North, Birmingham, Alabama, and owned by the intervenor, the Public Building Authority of the City of Birmingham, is leased to the United States of America and these offices are occupied by (a) the Birmingham Payment Center, Bureau of Old Age and Survivors Insurance, Social Security Administration, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, (b) the Birmingham Regional Office, Bureau of Accounts, Division of Disbursements, United States Treasury Department, and (c) the Communications Center, General Services Administration, United States Government.
3. The 712 employees of the Birmingham Payment Center, Social Security Administration, in the Social Security Building, have been and are regularly engaged in handling, working upon, otherwise processing, and approving benefit claim applications for Social Security benefit claimants residing in the States of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia, in authorizing the United States Treasury Department to issue benefit checks by approving eligible benefit claims and by certifying benefit rolls each month; in handling voluminous correspondence with claimants and beneficiaries scattered throughout the ten Southeastern States identified above; in otherwise communicating with persons outside the State of Alabama; and in preparing and transmitting to the Headquarters Office of the Social Security Administration periodic and special reports; and that the work of employees of this Agency is principally concerned with and directed toward the timely issuance of Social Security benefit checks to eligible persons participating in this phase of the Federal Social Security Program.
4. The 112 employees of the Birmingham Regional Office, Bureau of Accounts, Division of Disbursements, U. S. Treasury Department, in the Social Security Building, have been and are producing large numbers of U. S. Treasury Department checks which are and have been sent via United States mail to payees, including the Social Security beneficiaries under the jurisdiction of the Birmingham Payment Center located outside the State of Alabama.
5. The eight employees of the Communications Center, General Services Administration, in the Social Security Building, have been and are engaged regularly in handling out-of-state telephone calls and in transmitting to and receiving from persons located outside the State of Alabama teletype messages which are produced and transmitted in substantially the same manner as are commercial telegraph communications.
6. Employees of the Birmingham District Office of Internal Revenue Service, U. S. Treasury Department, 295 in number, occupy all of the office space in the Post Building located at 1531 Third Avenue, North, Birmingham, Alabama, and property of defendant, Molton, Allen & Williams, Inc., and within that building such employees of the United States of America have been and are regularly engaged in collecting Federal income taxes from residents of the State of Alabama; in handling, checking and otherwise working on income and Federal employer tax returns, and in forwarding substantial numbers of such returns to the Service Center of the Internal Revenue Service for additional handling, checking and processing; in originating and preparing numerous special and periodic reports which are transmitted outside the State of Alabama; in communicating with persons outside the State of Alabama by correspondence, telephone, teletype and otherwise.
7. All office space in the Calder Building, located at 18th Street and Third Avenue, North, Birmingham, Alabama, and owned by intervenor, Calder Realty Company, Inc., has been leased to the United States of America and has been occupied by agencies and employees of the United States.
8. The Headquarters Offices of the IV United States Army Corps (Reserve) are located in said Calder Building; these Headquarters Offices have occupied and do occupy all of two of four office space floors leased to the United States, and substantial portions of the two remaining floors; that the 200 employees of the IV United States Army Corps (Reserve) in the Calder Building and throughout the period charged by the complaint have been and are regularly engaged in the work of training, equipping, supervising and paying the active reserve forces of the United States Army in Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi; in originating, preparing in substantial quantities training manuals, directives, and instructions, and orders which are distributed from these headquarters to participants of the Army Reserve program in the States of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi; in approving requisitions for procurement; in preparing regular and special reports which are required to be sent to higher commands outside the State of Alabama; in inspecting participating units to determine their compliance with manuals, instructions and directives and their progress and accomplishments under the program; and in communicating with persons outside Alabama by correspondence, telephone, teletype and otherwise.
9. The 16 employees of District D, United States Bureau of Mines, U. S. Department of Interior, in and from the Calder Building, have been and are regularly engaged in providing accident prevention and related instruction classes respecting mine and mill operations in the States of Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi; in making safety inspections of coal mines in the states mentioned; in originating and preparing coal mine inspection reports for distribution outside the State of Alabama; in preparing regular and special reports for this Agency's headquarters offices in Washington, D. C.; and in communicating with persons outside the State of Alabama by telephone, teletype, correspondence, and otherwise.
10. The approximately 20 employees of defendant, Building Management Corporation, wholly owned by defendant, Molton, Allen & Williams, Inc., have been and are engaged in operating the Social Security Building, in removing trash therefrom, and in sweeping, cleaning, servicing, and otherwise maintaining that building; that the 12 employees of defendant, Industrial Management Corporation, also wholly owned by Molton, Allen & Williams, Inc., have been and are engaged in operating the Post Building, in removing trash therefrom, and in sweeping, cleaning, servicing and otherwise maintaining that building; and that the 12 employees of defendant, Molton, Allen & Williams, Inc., have been and are engaged in operating the Calder Building, in operating certain freight and passenger elevators therein, in removing trash therefrom, in sweeping, cleaning, servicing and otherwise maintaining said building, and include maids, janitors, nightwatchmen, elevator operators, engineers and painters.
11. The three management companies, in conformity with building management contracts, undertake and agree to employ, supervise, and pay the necessary number and classes of maintenance employees to operate, clean and maintain the buildings in first-class order; to withhold income taxes from employees' wages, pay the employer's share of Social Security taxes and otherwise treat such employees as their own; to collect the rent from the tenants, deduct therefrom all cost of servicing and maintaining the buildings and management fees for doing so, and to remit the balance to the owners.
12. Many employees of defendants, Building Management Corporation, Molton, Allen & Williams, Inc., and Industrial Management Corporation, employed by defendants respectively, in building service and building maintenance work at the Social Security, Calder, and Post Buildings in Birmingham, Alabama, have been and are being paid at rates less than $1 an hour.
13. Many employees of defendants, Building Management Corporation, Molton, Allen & Williams, Inc., and Industrial Management Corporation, employed by defendants respectively, in building service and maintenance work at the Social Security, Calder, and Post...
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