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Friday, February 28, 1958
time includes all time which the worker spends in the performance of his duties except time taken out for meals during the work day. Compensable working time commences at the time the worker is required to start work in the field and ends upon completion of work in the field. However, if the producer requires the operator of mechanical equipment, driver of animals or any other class of worker to report to a place other than the field, such as an assembly point, stable, tractor shed, etc., located on the farm, the time spent in transit from such place to the field and from the field to such place is compensable working time. Any time spent-in performing work directly related to the principal work performed by the worker such as servicing equip ment, is compensable working time. Time of the worker while being transported from a central recruiting point or labor camp to the farm is not compensable working time.
b Applicability. The requirements of this section are applicable to all persons employed on the farm, except as pro vided in paragraph c of this section, in the production, cultivation, or harvest ing of sugar beets grown on the farm for the extraction of sugar or liquid sugar: Provided, That such requirements shall not apply to any person engaged in such work with respect to sugar beets grown on acreage in excess of the propor tionate share for the farm which are marketed or processed for the produc tion of sugar or liquid sugar for livestock feed or for the production of livestock feed, if the producer furnishes to the appropriate Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation County Committee ac ceptable and adequate proof which satisfies the Cqjnmittee that the work performed was related solely to such sugar beets.
c Workers not covered. The re quirements of this section are not ap plicable to workers performing services which are indirectly connected with the production, cultivation, or harvesting of sugar beets, including but not limited to electricians, mechanics, welders, and other maintenance workers and repair men.
d Proof of compliance. The pro ducer shall, upon request, furnish to the appropriate Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation County Committee ac ceptable and adequate proof which satis fies the Committee that all workers have been paid in accordance with the re quirements of this section.
e Subterfuge. The producer shall not reduce the wage rates to workers below those determined in this section through any subterfuge or device what soever.
f Claim for Unpaid wages. Any per son who believes he has not been paid in accordance with this section may file a wage claim with the Agricultural Stabi lization and Conservation County Of fice against the producer oh whose farm the work was performed. Detailed in structions and wage claim forms are available at the County Office. Such claim must be filed within two years from the date the work with respect to which the claim is made was performed.

FEDERAL REGISTER

Upon receipt of a wage claim the County Office shall thereupon notify the pro ducer against whom the claim is made concerning the representation made by the worker. The County ASC Commit tee shall arrange for such investigation as it deems necessary and the producer and worker shall be notified in writing of its recommendation for settlement of the claim. If either party is not satisfied with the recommended settlement an appeal may be made to the State Agri cultural Stabilization and Conservation Office. The address of the State Office will be furnished by the County Office.
Upon receipt of the appeal the State Committee shall likewise consider the facts and notify the producer and worker in writing of its recommendation for settlement of the claim. If the recom mendation of the State Committee is not acceptable, either party may file an ap peal with the Director of the Sugar Divi sion, Commodity Stabilization Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Wash ington 25, D. C. All such appeals shall be filed within 15 days after receipt of the recommended settlement from the respective committee, otherwise such rec ommended settlement will be applied in making payments under the act. If a claim is appealed to the Director of the Sugar Division, his decision shall be binding on all parties insofar as pay ments under the act are concerned.
STATEMENT OF BASES AND CONSIDERATIONS

a General. The foregoing deter mination establishes fair and reasonable wage rates to be paid for work performed by persons employed on the farm in the production, cultivation, or harvesting of the 1958 crop of sugar beets in California, southern Oregon, and western Nevada as one of the conditions with which pro ducers must comply to be eligible for payments under the act.
b Requirements of the act and standards employed. Section 301 c 1
of the act requires that all persons em ployed on the farm in the production, cultivation, or harvesting of sugar beets with respect to which an application for payment is made shall have been paid in full for all such work, and shall have been paid wages therefor at rates not less than those that may be determined by the Secretary to be fair and reason able after investigation and due notice and opportunity for public hearing; and in making such determinations the Sec retary shall take into consideration the standards therefor formerly established by him under the Agricultural Adjust ment Act, as amended i. e., cost of liv ing, prices of sugar and by-products, income from sugar beets, and cost of production, and the differences in con ditions among various producing areas.
c 1958 wage determination. This determination continues the provisions of the 1957 determination except that it is no longer applicable to southwestern Arizona. Minor language changes have been made which do not affect the requirements.
At the public hearing held at Berkeley, California, on November 1, 1957, inter ested persons were afforded the opportu nity to present testimony relating to fair
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and reasonable wage rates for workers employed in the production, cultivation, or harvesting of the 1958 crop of sugar beets.
A representative of the California Beet Growers Association recommended that the provisions of the 1958 determination be the same as4hose in effect for the 1957
crop. The witness stated that at the present time there are no sugar beets grown in southwestern Arizona for the production of sugar. He also stated that while the provision for handicapped workers was used but little, his organiza-
tion would prefer that it remain in the determination because its elimination might affect the job opportunities for handicapped workers. The witness com mented on the low yields of beets and the low levels of sucrose encountered principally in the Kern County area dur ing the 1957 harvest. He said that in this area the yields of sugar beets have declined 10 to 12 tons per, acre and the sucrose content of the beets has declined 6 or 7 percentage points. He attributed the low yield of beets and their low su crose content to an outbreak of "virus yellows in the area and to other diseases.
A representative of District 9 of the California Beet Growers Association which includes the Imperial Valley, recommended that for wage determina tion purposes the Imperial Valley be con tinued as a separate producing region.
He said that this region is geographically isolated from the other sugar beet pro ducing regions of the State and that re turns to producers for sugar beets are not as high as in other regions. The region, he stated, also constitutes a somewhat different market for labor in that, in addition to the Mexican-Nationals who enter the U. S. under agreement with the Mexican Government, producers have access to local Mexican labor on a day basis. Such workers, he said, are not employed under the agreement with the Mexican Govern ment but they are paid the same level of wages. However, they do not receive the perquisites provided Mexican-Nationals under this agreement.
Consideration has been given to the testimony presented at the hearing, to the standards customarily considered in wage determinations, to information obtained by investigation, and to other pertinent factors. Data obtained by field cost studies for recent crops cover ing the returns, costs, and profits of sugar beet production have been recast in terms of prospective conditions for the 1958 crop. Analysis of all factors indicates that the wage provisions of this determination are equitable in light of indicated conditions.
Testimony presented at the public hearing indicates that the hourly wage rates for thinning and hoeing sugar beets range from 80 cents to slightly above 90
cents except in the Imperial Valley, where the rate is 70 cents an hour; for harvesting work the hourly wage ,rates range from 85 cents an hour upward, ex cept in the Imperial Valley where the rate for this work is 75 cents an hour;
piecework rates for thinning range from $10 to $18 per acre; about 50 percent of the thinning work is performed on a piecework basis and 50 percent on the