---
kind: "section"
citation: "29 C.F.R. § 780.304"
title: "29"
number: "780.304"
heading: "“Employed by an employer.”"
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/29/780.304"
---

# §780.304. “Employed by an employer.”

- (a) The employer may be an individual, a partnership, or a corporation. It is not necessary that the employer be a farmer as defined in [§ 780.131](/cfr/29/780.131.md). It is sufficient that he “uses” agricultural labor.
- (b) In applying this exemption, one of the main criteria is the number of man-days of agricultural labor used by the employer. [Section 13(a)(6)(A)](/cfr/29/13.md?p=a-6-A) provides that the exemption shall not apply to an employee employed in agriculture “if such employee is employed by an employer who did not * * * use more than 500 man-days of agricultural labor * * *.” From this language of the statute, the man-days of all agricultural workers, unless specifically excluded, of an employer whether he be the owner of a single farm, the owner of an enterprise consisting of several farms, a tenant farmer, an independent contractor, etc., are to be counted for purposes of [section 13(a)(6)(A)](/cfr/29/13.md?p=a-6-A) whether they are employed at one place or several widely scattered places. For example if an employer owns and operates two farms, it is the total number of man-days used on both farms and not that used on each individual farm that determines whether he meets the 500 man-day test. Likewise independent contractor who harvests crops on different farms during the harvesting season must total all the man-days of agricultural labor used on all such farms except those excludable under [section 3(e)](/cfr/29/3.md?p=e) in determining whether he meets the 500 man-day test.

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: Secs. 1-19, 52 Stat. 1060, as amended; 75 Stat. 65; 29 U.S.C. 201-219. Pub. L. 105-78, 111 Stat. 1467.

### Source

Source: 37 FR 12084, June 17, 1972, unless otherwise noted.