§779.21. Enterprise. — Inbound Citations

As used in the Act (including the definition of “enterprise” set forth in § 779.21), “person” is defined as meaning “an individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, legal representative, or any organized group of persons.” (Act, section 3(a).)

The activities described in section 3(r) are included in an enterprise only when they are performed for a “business” purpose. Activities of eleemosynary, religious, or educational organization may be performed for a business purpose. Thus, where such organizations engage in ordinary commercial activities, such as operating a printing and publishing plant, the business activities will be treated under the Act the same as when they are performed by the ordinary business enterprise. (See Mitchell v. Pilgrims Holiness Church Corp., 210 F. 2d 879 (CA-7); cert. den. 347 U.S. 1013.) However, the nonprofit educational, religious, and eleemosynary activities will not be included in the enterprise unless they are of the types which the last sentence of section 3(r), as amended in 1966, declares shall be deemed to be performed for a business purpose. Such activities were not regarded as performed for a business purpose under the prior Act and are not so considered under the Act as it was amended in 1966 except for those activities listed in the last sentence of amended section 3(r). (See § 779.21.)

The term “enterprise” is defined in section 3(r) of the Act and, wherever used in the Act, is governed by this definition. (§ 779.21(a) provides that portion of the definition of “enterprise” which is pertinent with respect to retail and service enterprises.) The term is a key in determining the applicability of the Act to these businesses. The “enterprise” is the unit for determining whether the conditions of section 3(s)(1) through (5) of the prior Act and section 3(s)(1) through (4) of the amended Act, including, where applicable, the requisite dollar volume are met. The “enterprise” is also the unit for determining which employees not individually covered by the Act are entitled to the minimum wage, overtime, and equal pay benefits, and to the child labor protection, under sections 6, 7, and 12 of the Act. In general, if the “enterprise” comes within any of the categories described in section 3(s)(1) through (5) of the prior Act or section 3(s)(1) through (4) of the amended Act, all employees employed in the “enterprise” are covered by the Act and, regardless of their duties, are entitled to the Act's benefits unless a specific exemption applies.