§780.804. “Ginning” of cotton. — Inbound Citations

As indicated in § 780.804, the ginning for which the exemption is intended is the first processing of the agricultural commodity, cotton, in its natural form, into lint cotton for market. It does not include further operations which may be performed on the cottonseed or the cotton lint, even though such operations are performed in the same establishment where the ginning is done. Delinting, which is the removal of short fibers and fuzz from cottonseed, is not exempt under section 13(b)(15). It is not first processing of the seed cotton; rather, it is performed on cottonseed, usually in cottonseed processing establishments, and even if regarded as ginning (Mitchell v. Burgess, 239 F. 2d 484) it is not the ginning of cotton for market contemplated by section 13(b)(15). It may come within the overtime exemption provided in section 7(d) of the Act for certain seasonal industries. (See § 526.11(b)(1) of part 526 of this chapter.) Compressing of cotton, which is the pressing of bales into higher density bales than those which come from the gin, is a further processing of the cotton entirely removed from ginning (Peacock v. Lubbock Compress Co., 252 F. 2d 892). Employees engaged in compressing may, however, be subject to exemption from overtime pay under section 7(c). (See § 526.10(b)(8) of this chapter.)

As noted in § 780.804, it is ginning of seed cotton which converts the cotton to marketable form. Section 13(b)(15), however, provides an exemption only where the cotton is actually ginned “for market.” (Wirtz v. Southern Pickery, Inc. (W.D. Tenn.) 278 F. Supp. 729.) The ginning of cotton for some other purpose is not exempt work. Cotton is not ginned “for market” if it is not to be marketed in the form in which the ginning operation leaves it. Cotton is not ginned “for market” if it is being ginned preliminary to further processing operations to be performed on the cotton by the same employer before marketing the commodity in an altered form. (Compare Mitchell v. Park (D. Minn.), 14 WH Cases 43, 36 Labor Cases 65, 191; Bush v. Wilson & Co., 157 Kans. 82, 138 P. 2d 457; Gaskin v. Clell Coleman & Sons, 2 WH Cases 977.)

Employees engaged in actual ginning operations, as described in § 780.804 will come within the exemption if all other conditions of section 13(b)(15) are met. The following activities are among those within the meaning of the term “engaged in ginning of cotton”: