The exemption applies to the transportation of persons ``employed or to be employed'' in the harvesting of fruits or vegetables. Included in this phrase are persons who at the time of transportation are currently employed in harvesting fruits or vegetables and others who, regardless of their occupation at such time, are being transported to be employed in such harvesting. The conveying of persons to a farm from a factory, packinghouse or processing plant would be exempt where their transportation is for the purpose of their employment in harvesting the named commodities. On the other hand, the transportation of harvest workers, who have been employed in the fruit or vegetable harvest, to such a plant for the purpose of their employment in the plant would not be exempt. The transportation must come within the intended scope of section 13(b)(16) which is to provide exemption for ``transportation of the harvest crew to and from the farm'' (see 107 Cong. Rec. daily ed. p. 4523). Sec. 780.922 ``Harvesting'' of fruits or vegetables.
Only transportation of employees employed or to be employed in the ``harvesting'' of fruits or vegetables is exempt under clause (B) of section 13(b)(16). As indicated in Sec. 780.920, such harvest workers do not include employees employed or to be employed in planting or cultivating the crop. Nor do they include employees employed or to be employed in operations subsequent to harvesting, even where such operations constitute ``agriculture'' within the definition in section 3(f) of the Act. ``Harvesting'' refers to the removal of fruits or vegetables from their growing position in the fields, and as explained in Sec. 780.118 of this part, includes the operations customarily performed in connection with this severance of the crops from the soil (see Vives v. Serralles, 145 F. 2d 552), but does not extend to operations subsequent to and unconnected with the actual severance process or to operations performed off the farm. It may include moving the fruits or vegetables to concentration points on the farm, but would not include packingshed or other operations performed in preparation for market rather than as part of harvesting, such as ripening, cleaning, grading, sorting, drying, and storing. If the workers are employed or to be employed in ``harvesting'', it does not matter for purposes of the exemption whether a farmer or someone else employs them or does the harvesting. It is the character of their employment as ``harvesting'' and not the identity of their employer or the owner of the crop which determines whether their transportation to and from the farm will provide a basis for exemption of the transportation of employees. Sec. 780.923 ``Between the farm and any point within the same State.''
The transportation of fruit or vegetable harvest workers is permitted ``between the farm and any point within the same State''. The exempt transportation of such harvest workers therefore includes their movement to and from the farm (see 107 Cong. Rec. (daily ed.) p. 4523). Such transportation must, however, be from or to points ``within the same State'' in which the farm is located. Crossing of State lines is not contemplated. Thus, the exemption would not apply to day-haul transportation of fruit or vegetable harvest workers between a town in one State and farms located in another State. Also, the intent to exempt ``transportation of the harvest crew to and from the farm'' (see 107 Cong. Rec. (daily ed.) p. 4523) within a single State would not justify exemption of the transportation of workers from one State to another to engage in harvest work in the latter State. The exemption does not apply to transportation of persons on any trip, or any portion of a trip, in which the point of origin or point of destination is in another State. Subject to these limitations, however, where employees are being transported for employment in harvesting they may be picked up in any place within the State, including other farms, packing or processing establishments, factories, transportation terminals, and other places. The broad term ``any point'' must be interpreted in the light of the purpose of the exemption to facilitate the harvesting of fruits or vegetables. Transportation from a farm to ``any point'' within the same State (such as a factory or processing plant) where some other purpose than harvesting is served is not exempt. Subpart K_Employment of Home- workers in Making Wreaths; Exemption From
Minimum Wage, Overtime Compensation, and Child Labor Provisions Under
Section 13(d)
Introductory