§ 260 TITLE 29—LABOR Page 104

1So in original. Probably should be ‘‘Walsh-Healey Act’’.

TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS

Functions relating to enforcement and administration of equal pay provisions vested by subsec. (b)(1) of

this section in Administrator of Wage and Hour Division of Department of Labor transferred to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by Reorg. Plan No.

1 of 1978, §1, 43 F.R. 19807, 92 Stat. 3781, set out in the

Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, effective Jan. 1, 1979, as provided by section

1–101 of Ex. Ord. No. 12106, Dec. 28, 1978, 44 F.R. 1053.

For transfer of functions of other officers, employees,

and agencies of Department of Labor, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of Labor, with power to delegate,

see Reorg. Plan No. 6, of 1950, §§1, 2, 15 F.R. 3174, 64

Stat. 1263, set out in the Appendix to Title 5.

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 626 of this title.

§ 260. Liquidated damages

In any action commenced prior to or on or

after May 14, 1947 to recover unpaid minimum

wages, unpaid overtime compensation, or liquidated damages, under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended [29 U.S.C. 201 et

seq.], if the employer shows to the satisfaction

of the court that the act or omission giving rise

to such action was in good faith and that he had

reasonable grounds for believing that his act or

omission was not a violation of the Fair Labor

Standards Act of 1938, as amended, the court

may, in its sound discretion, award no liquidated damages or award any amount thereof

not to exceed the amount specified in section 216

of this title.

(May 14, 1947, ch. 52, §11, 61 Stat. 89; Pub. L.

93–259, §6(d)(2)(B), Apr. 8, 1974, 88 Stat. 62.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, referred to in text, is act June 25, 1938, ch. 676, 52 Stat.

1060, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 8 (§201 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 201 of this title

and Tables.

AMENDMENTS

1974—Pub. L. 93–259 substituted ‘‘section 216 of this

title’’ for ‘‘section 216(b) of this title’’.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1974 AMENDMENT

Amendment by Pub. L. 93–259 effective May 1, 1974,

see section 29(a) of Pub. L. 93–259, set out as a note

under section 202 of this title.

§ 261. Applicability of ‘‘area of production’’ regulations

No employer shall be subject to any liability

or punishment under the Fair Labor Standards

Act of 1938, as amended [29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.], on

account of the failure of such employer to pay

an employee minimum wages, or to pay an employee overtime compensation, for or on account of an activity engaged in by such employee prior to December 26, 1946, if such employer—

(1) was not so subject by reason of the definition of an ‘‘area of production’’, by a regulation of the Administrator of the Wage and

Hour Division of the Department of Labor,

which regulation was applicable at the time of

performance of the activity even though at

that time the regulation was invalid; or

(2) would not have been so subject if the regulation signed on December 18, 1946 (Federal

Register, Vol. 11, p. 14648) had been in force on

and after October 24, 1938.

(May 14, 1947, ch. 52, §12, 61 Stat. 89.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, referred to in text, is act June 25, 1938, ch. 676, 52 Stat.

1060, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 8 (§201 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 201 of this title

and Tables.

TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS

For transfer of functions of other officers, employees,

and agencies of Department of Labor, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of Labor, with power to delegate,

see Reorg. Plan No. 6, of 1950, §§1, 2, 15 F.R. 3174, 64

Stat. 1263, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

§ 262. Definitions

(a) When the terms ‘‘employer’’, ‘‘employee’’,

and ‘‘wage’’ are used in this chapter in relation

to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as

amended [29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.], they shall have

the same meaning as when used in such Act of

1938.

(b) When the term ‘‘employer’’ is used in this

chapter in relation to the Walsh-Healey Act [41

U.S.C. 35 et seq.] or Bacon-Davis Act [40 U.S.C.

276a et seq.] it shall mean the contractor or subcontractor covered by such Act.

(c) When the term ‘‘employee’’ is used in this

chapter in relation to the Walsh-Healey Act [41

U.S.C. 35 et seq.] or the Bacon-Davis Act [40

U.S.C. 276a et seq.] it shall mean any individual

employed by the contractor or subcontractor

covered by such Act in the performance of his

contract or subcontract.

(d) The term ‘‘Wash-Healey Act’’ 1 means the

Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide conditions for

the purchase of supplies and the making of contracts by the United States, and for other purposes’’, approved June 30, 1936 (49 Stat. 2036), as

amended [41 U.S.C. 35 et seq.]; and the term

‘‘Bacon-Davis Act’’ means the Act entitled ‘‘An

Act to amend the Act approved March 3, 1931, relating to the rate of wages for laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors on public buildings’’, approved August 30, 1935 (49 Stat. 1011), as amended [40 U.S.C.

§276a et seq.].

(e) As used in section 255 of this title the term

‘‘State’’ means any State of the United States

or the District of Columbia or any Territory or

possession of the United States.

(May 14, 1947, ch. 52, §13, 61 Stat. 90.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, referred to in subsec. (a), is act June 25, 1938, ch. 676, 52

Stat. 1060, as amended, which is classified generally to

chapter 8 (§201 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see see section 201 of

this title and Tables.

The ‘‘Bacon-Davis Act’’, which is defined for purposes

of this chapter in subsec. (d), is generally known as the

‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’. See Short Title note set out under