Walling v. Sondock

Decision Date12 December 1942
Docket NumberNo. 10321.,10321.
Citation132 F.2d 77
PartiesWALLING, Administrator of Wage and Hour Division, United States Department of Labor, v. SONDOCK et al.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Charles R. Reynolds, Jr., Principal Atty., U. S. Department of Labor, Warner W. Gardner, Sol., U. S. Department of Labor, Mortimer B. Wolf, Asst. Sol., U. S. Department of Labor, and Irving J. Levy, Associate Sol., U. S. Department of Labor, all of Washington, D. C., and Llewellyn B. Duke, Regional Atty., U. S. Department of Labor, of Dallas, Tex., for appellant.

Tom M. Davis and Dillon Anderson, both of Houston, Tex., for appellees.

Before HOLMES and McCORD, Circuit Judges, and STRUM, District Judge.

HOLMES, Circuit Judge.

Appellees operate an agency engaged in the business of furnishing guards or watchmen to various customers in and about Houston, Texas. The question for decision is whether appellees are subject to the provisions of Sections 6 and 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 19381 with respect to those of their employees that are furnished to customers engaged in the production of goods for commerce or the distribution of goods in commerce.

Whether or not the Act, 29 U.S. C.A. § 151 et seq., is applicable in a given instance depends upon the character of the duties performed by the employee;2 and, if the work of the employee has such close and immediate connection with the process of production for commerce as to be an essential part of it, such employee is engaged in the production of goods for commerce within the meaning of the Act.3 Similarly, if an employee's services are part of and contribute materially to the consummation of transactions in interstate commerce, the employee is engaged in commerce as defined by the Act. Upon these principles, those watchmen charged with the protection and preservation of the buildings and machinery used to produce goods for commerce perform duties having an essential relationship to the process of producing and distributing goods in interstate commerce.

Alternatively, appellees contend that these employees were engaged in a service establishment, the greater part of whose servicing was in intrastate commerce; that, by reason thereof, Section 13(a) (2) of the Act, renders Sections 6 and 7 thereof inapplicable to them. It was upon the ground that the agency was a service establishment that the court below gave judgment for the appellees.

Upon the authority of Kirschbaum v. Walling,4 and by analogous...

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27 cases
  • Mitchell v. Telephone Answering Service, Inc.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico
    • October 22, 1959
    ...commerce is the relationship to interstate commerce of the work which the employee performs under his employment. Thus in Walling v. Sondock, 5 Cir., 132 F.2d 77, 78, which concerned the coverage by the Act of employees of a detective agency furnishing guards or watchmen to various Houston,......
  • Mitchell v. Molton, Allen & Williams, Inc.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama
    • January 4, 1961
    ...Co. v. Pedersen, 324 U.S. 720, 65 S.Ct. 892, 89 L.Ed. 1316; Boutell v. Walling, 327 U.S. 463, 66 S.Ct. 631, 90 L.Ed. 786; Walling v. Sondock, 5 Cir., 132 F.2d 77, Cf. Spaeth v. Washington University, 240 Mo.App. 79, 213 S.W.2d I also find support for this conclusion in the many decisions ho......
  • Wirtz v. Healy
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois
    • February 20, 1964
    ...Goldberg v. Whitaker House Coop., 366 U.S. 28, 81 S.Ct. 933, 6 L.Ed.2d 100; Wabash Radio Corp. v. Walling, 162 F.2d 391 (C.A.6); Walling v. Sondock, 132 F.2d 77 (C.A.5), certiorari denied, 318 U.S. 772, 63 S.Ct. 769, 87 L. Ed. 1142; Kirschbaum v. Walling, 316 U.S. 517, 62 S.Ct. 1116, 86 L.E......
  • Spaeth v. Washington University
    • United States
    • Missouri Court of Appeals
    • July 2, 1948
    ... ... respondent's motion for new trial. Fair Labor Standards ... Act of 1938, 52 Stat. 1060, 29 U.S.C. A., Secs. 201-219; ... Kirschbaum v. Walling, Admr., 316 U.S. 517, 86 L.Ed ... 1638; 10 East 40th Street Building v. Callus, 325 ... U.S. 578, 89 L.Ed. 1806; Addison v. Commercial National ... ...
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6 provisions
  • 29 C.F.R. § 776.9 General Scope of ''in Commerce'' Coverage
    • United States
    • Code of Federal Regulations 2022 Edition Title 29. Labor Subtitle B. Regulations Relating to Labor Chapter V. Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor Subchapter B. Statements of General Policy Or Interpretation Not Directly Related to Regulations Part 776. Interpretative Bulletin On the General Coverage of the Wage and Hours Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 Subpart A. General Engaging "In Commerce"
    • January 1, 2022
    ...151 F. 2d 543 (C.A. 8), affirmed 327 U.S. 757; New Mexico Public Service Co. v. Engel, 145 F. 2d 636 (C.A. 10).26 Walling v. Sondock, 132 F. 2d 77 (C.A. 5), certiorari denied 318 U.S. 772. See also Horton v. Wilson & Co., 223 N.C. 71, 25 S.E. 2d 437, in which the court stated that an employ......
  • 29 C.F.R. § 776.9 General Scope of ''in Commerce'' Coverage
    • United States
    • Code of Federal Regulations 2021 Edition Title 29. Labor Subtitle B. Regulations Relating to Labor Chapter V. Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor Subchapter B. Statements of General Policy Or Interpretation Not Directly Related to Regulations Part 776. Interpretative Bulletin On the General Coverage of the Wage and Hours Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 Subpart A. General Engaging "In Commerce"
    • January 1, 2021
    ...151 F. 2d 543 (C.A. 8), affirmed 327 U.S. 757; New Mexico Public Service Co. v. Engel, 145 F. 2d 636 (C.A. 10).26 Walling v. Sondock, 132 F. 2d 77 (C.A. 5), certiorari denied 318 U.S. 772. See also Horton v. Wilson & Co., 223 N.C. 71, 25 S.E. 2d 437, in which the court stated that an employ......
  • 29 C.F.R. § 776.19 Employees of Independent Employers Meeting Needs of Producers For Commerce
    • United States
    • Code of Federal Regulations 2022 Edition Title 29. Labor Subtitle B. Regulations Relating to Labor Chapter V. Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor Subchapter B. Statements of General Policy Or Interpretation Not Directly Related to Regulations Part 776. Interpretative Bulletin On the General Coverage of the Wage and Hours Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 Subpart A. General Engaging In "The Production of Goods For Commerce"
    • January 1, 2022
    ...St. 1949 Cong. Rec. p. 15372; Kirschbaum Co. v. Walling,316 U.S. 517; Roland Electrical Co. v. Walling,326 U.S. 657; Walling v. Sondock, 132 F. 2d 77 (C.A. 5); Holland Amoskeag Machine Co., 44 F. Supp. 884 (D.N.H.). 17H. Mgrs. St., 1949, page 15. Notes:History: 15 FR 2925, 5/17/1950, as ame......
  • 29 C.F.R. § 776.19 Employees of Independent Employers Meeting Needs of Producers For Commerce
    • United States
    • Code of Federal Regulations 2021 Edition Title 29. Labor Subtitle B. Regulations Relating to Labor Chapter V. Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor Subchapter B. Statements of General Policy Or Interpretation Not Directly Related to Regulations Part 776. Interpretative Bulletin On the General Coverage of the Wage and Hours Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 Subpart A. General Engaging In "The Production of Goods For Commerce"
    • January 1, 2021
    ...St. 1949 Cong. Rec. p. 15372; Kirschbaum Co. v. Walling,316 U.S. 517; Roland Electrical Co. v. Walling,326 U.S. 657; Walling v. Sondock, 132 F. 2d 77 (C.A. 5); Holland v. Amoskeag Machine Co., 44 F. Supp. 884 (D.N.H.). 17H. Mgrs. St., 1949, page 15. Notes:History: 15 FR 2925, May 17, 1950, ......
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