trust funds; or (7) with respect to money or other thing of value paid by any employer to a pooled or individual trust fund established by such representative for the purpose of (A) scholarships for the benefit of employees, their families, and dependents for study at educational institutions, or (B) child care centers for preschool and school age dependents of employees: Provided, That no labor organization or employer shall be required to bargain on the establishment of any such trust fund, and refusal to do so shall not constitute an unfair labor practice: Provided further, That the requirements of clause (B) of the proviso to clause (5) of this subsection shall apply to such trust funds.

(d) Any person who willfully violates any of the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a misdemeanor and be subject to a fine of not more than $10,000 or to imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

(e) The district courts of the United States and the United States courts of the Territories and possessions shall have jurisdiction, for cause shown, and subject to the provisions of section 381 of Title 28 (relating to notice to opposite party) to restrain violations of this section, without regard to the provisions of section 17 of Title 15 and section 52 of this title, and the provisions of sections 101 to 115 of this title.

(f) This section shall not apply to any contract in force on June 23, 1947, until the expiration of such contract, or until July 1, 1948, whichever first occurs.

(g) Compliance with the restrictions contained in subsection (c) (5) (B) of this section upon contributions to trust funds, otherwise lawful, shall not be applicable to contributions to such trust funds established by collective agreement prior to January 1, 1946, nor shall subsection (c) (5) (A) of this section be construed as prohibiting contributions to such trust funds if prior to January 1, 1947, such funds contained provisions for pooled vacation benefits. (June 23, 1947, ch. 120, title III, § 302, 61 Stat. 157; Sept. 14, 1959, Pub. L. 86-257, title V, § 505, 73 Stat. 537; Oct. 14, 1969, Pub. L. 91-86, 83 Stat. 133.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

Part II of the Interstate Commerce Act, referred to in subsec. (b) (2), is classified to chapter 8 of Title 49, Transportation.

Section 381 of Title 28, referred to in subsec. (e), was omitted from the revision of Title 28 by act June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 869, as covered by rule 65 of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

"Sections 101 to 115 of this title," referred to in the text, is a reference to act Mar. 23, 1932, ch. 90, 47 Stat. 70, popularly known as the Norris-LaGuardia Act.

Section 11 of that act, formerly classified to section 111 of this title, was repealed and reenacted as section 3692 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, by act June 25, 1948, ch. 645, § 21, 62 Stat. 862, eff. Sept. 1, 1948. Section 12 of that act, formerly classified to section 112 of this title, was also repealed by act June 25, 1948, and is now covered by rule 42 (b), Title 18, Appendix, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

AMENDMENTS

1969 Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 91-86 added cl. (7). 1959-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 86-257 substituted provisions set forth above for provisions that read: “It shall be unlawful for any employer to pay or deliver, or to

agree to pay or deliver, any money or other thing of value to any representative of any of his employees who are employed in an industry affecting commerce."

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 86-257 substituted provisions set forth above for provisions that read: "It shall be unlawful for any representative of any employees who are employed in an industry affecting commerce to receive or accept, or to agree to receive or accept, from the employer of such employees any money or other thing of value."

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 86-257 substituted "in respect to any money or other thing of value payable by an employer to any of his employees whose established duties include acting openly for such employer in matters of labor relations or personnel administration or to any representative of his employees, or to any officer or employee of a labor organization, who is also an employee or former employee of such employer, as compensation for, or by reason of, his service as an employee of such employer" for "with respect to any money or other thing of value payable by an employer to any representative who is an employee or former employee of such employer, as compensation for, or by reason of, his services as an employee of such employer” în cl. (1), and added cl. (6).

CROSS REFERENCES

Wire or oral communications, authorization for interception, to provide evidence of violations of this section dealing with restrictions on payments and loans to labor organizations, see section 2516 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in sections 432, 433, 523; title 18 section 2516.

§ 187. Unlawful activities or conduct; right to sue; jurisdiction; limitations; damages.

(a) It shall be unlawful, for the purpose of this section only, in an industry or activity affecting commerce, for any labor organization to engage in any activity or conduct defined as an unfair labor practice in section 158(b) (4) of this title.

(b) Whoever shall be injured in his business or property by reason or any violation of subsection (a) of this section may sue therefor in any district court of the United States subject to the limitations and provisions of section 185 of this title without respect to the amount in controversy, or in any other court having jurisdiction of the parties, and shall recover the damages by him sustained and the cost of the suit. (June 23, 1947, ch. 120, title III, § 303, 61 Stat. 158; Sept. 14, 1959, Pub. L. 86–257, title VII, § 704 (e), 73 Stat. 545.)

AMENDMENTS

1959-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 86-257 eliminated provisions which specified particular practices that were unlawful, and inserted a reference to practices defined in section 158(b) (4) of this title, which section defines the unfair labor practices formerly eumerated in this subsection.

§ 188. Repealed. Aug. 9, 1955, ch. 690, § 4 (3), 69 Stat. 625.

Section, act June 23, 1947, ch. 120, title III, § 305, 61 Stat. 160, forbade striking by Government employees, required discharge of striking employee and forfeiture of his civil-service status, and made him ineligible for employment for three years, and is now covered by sections 3333 and 7311 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees and section 1918 of Title 18, crimes and criminal procedure.

1 So in original. Probably should read "of".

216b. Liability for overtime work performed prior to July 20, 1949.

217. Injunction proceedings.

218.

Relation to other laws.

219. Separability of provisions.

CHAPTER REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This chapter is referred to in title 15 section 1014. § 201. Short title.

This chapter may be cited as the "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938". (June 25, 1938, ch. 676, § 1, 52 Stat. 1060.)

SHORT TITLE OF 1949 AMENDMENTS Congress in enacting amendment of sections 202-208 and 211-217 of this title, provided by section 1 of act Oct. 26, 1949, ch. 736, 63 Stat. 910, that the amendments should be popularly known as the "Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1949".

§ 202. Congressional finding and declaration of policy. (a) The Congress finds that the existence, in industries engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, of labor conditions detrimental to the maintenance of the minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency. and general well-being of workers (1) causes commerce and the channels and instrumentalities of commerce to be used to spread and perpetuate such labor conditions among the workers of the several States; (2) burdens commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce; (3) constitutes an unfair method of competition in commerce; (4) leads to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the

free flow of goods in commerce; and (5) interferes with the orderly and fair marketing of goods in commerce.

(b) It is declared to be the policy of this chapter, through the exercise by Congress of its power to regulate commerce among the several States and with foreign nations, to correct and as rapidly as practicable to eliminate the conditions above referred to in such industries without substantially curtailing employment or earning power. (June 25, 1938, ch. 676, § 2, 52 Stat. 1060; Oct. 26, 1949, ch. 736, § 2, 63 Stat. 910.)

AMENDMENTS

1949-Subsec. (b). Act Oct. 26, 1949, included the regulation of commerce with foreign nations.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1949 AMENDMENT Section 16 (a) of act Oct. 26, 1949, provided that: "The amendments made by this Act [enacting section 216b of this title, amending sections 202-208, 211215, and 217 of this title, and repealing section 216(a) of this title] shall take effect upon the expiration of ninety days from the date of its enactment [October 26, 1947]; except that the amendment made by section 4 [amending section 204 of this title] shall take effect on the date of its enactment [October 26, 1949]."

§ 203. Definitions.

As used in this chapter

(a) "Person" means an individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, legal representative, or any organized group of persons.

(b) "Commerce" means trade, commerce, transportation, transmission, or communication among the several States or between any State and any place outside thereof.

(c) "State" means any State of the United States or the District of Columbia or any Territory or possession of the United States.

(d) "Employer" includes any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee but shall not include the United States or any State or political subdivision of a State (except with respect to employees of a State, or a political subdivision thereof, employed (1) in a hospital, institution, or school referred to in the last sentence of subsection (r) of this section, or (2) in the operation of a railway or carrier referred to in such sentence), or any labor organization (other than when acting as an employer), or anyone acting in the capacity of officer or agent of such labor organization.

(e) "Employee" includes any individual employed by an employer, except that such term shall not, for the purposes of subsection (u) of this section include

(1) any individual employed by an employer engaged in agriculture if such individual is the parent, spouse, child, or other member of the employer's immediate family, or

(2) any individual who is employed by an employer engaged in agriculture if such individual (A) is employed as a hand harvest laborer and is paid on a piece rate basis in an operation which has been, and is customarily and generally recognized as having been, paid on a piece rate basis in the region of employment, (B) commutes daily from his permanent residence to the farm on

which he is so employed, and (C) has been employed in agriculture less than thirteen weeks during the preceding calendar year.

(f) "Agriculture" includes farming in all its branches and among other things includes the cultivation and tillage of the soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing, and harvesting of any agricultural or horticultural commodities (including commodities defined as agricultural commodities in section 1141j (g) of Title 12), the raising of livestock, bees, fur-bearing animals, or poultry, and any practices (including any forestry or lumbering operations) performed by a farmer or on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction with such farming operations, including preparation for market, delivery to storage or to market or to carriers for transportation to market.

(g) "Employ" includes to suffer or permit to work. (h) "Industry" means a trade, business, industry, or branch thereof, or group of industries, in which individuals are gainfully employed.

(i) "Goods" means goods (including ships and marine equipment), wares, products, commodities, merchandise, or articles or subjects of commerce of any character, or any part or ingredient thereof, but does not include goods after their delivery into the actual physical possession of the ultimate consumer thereof other than a producer, manufacturer, or processor thereof.

(j) "Produced" means produced, manufactured, mined, handled, or in any other manner worked on in any State; and for the purposes of this chapter an employee shall be deemed to have been engaged in the production of goods if such employee was employed in producing, manufacturing, mining, handling, transporting, or in any other manner working on such goods, or in any closely related process or occupation directly essential to the production thereof, in any State,

(k) "Sale" or "sell" includes any sale, exchange, contract to sell, consignment for sale, shipment for sale, or other disposition.

(1) "Oppressive child labor" means a condition of employment under which (1) any employee under the age of sixteen years is employed by an employer (other than a parent or a person standing in place of a parent employing his own child or a child in his custody under the age of sixteen years in an occupation other than manufacturing or mining or an occupation found by the Secretary of Labor to be particularly hazardous for the employment of children between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years or detrimental to their health or well-being) in any occupation, or (2) any employee between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years is employed by an employer in any occupation which the Secretary of Labor shall find and by order declare to be particularly hazardous for the employment of children between such ages or detrimental to their health or well-being; but oppressive child labor shall not be deemed to exist by virtue of the employment in any occupation of any person with respect to whom the employer shall have on file an unexpired certificate issued and held pursuant to regulations of the Secretary of Labor certifying that such person is above the oppressive child-labor age. The Secretary of

Labor shall provide by regulation or by order that the employment of employees between the ages of fourteen and sixteen years in occupations other than manufacturing and mining shall not be deemed to constitute oppressive child labor if and to the extent that the Secretary of Labor determines that such employment is confined to periods which will not interfere with their schooling and to conditions which will not interfere with their health and wellbeing.

(m) "Wage" paid to any employee includes the reasonable cost, as determined by the Administrator, to the employer of furnishing such employee with board, lodging, or other facilities, if such board, lodging, or other facilities are customarily furnished by such employer to his employees: Provided, That the cost of board, lodging, or other facilities shall not be included as a part of the wage paid to any employee to the extent it is excluded therefrom under the terms of a bona fide collectivebargaining agreement applicable to the particular employee: Provided further, That the Secretary is authorized to determine the fair value of such board, lodging, or other facilities for defined classes of employees and in defined areas, based on average cost to the employer or to groups of employers similarly situated, or average value to groups of employees, or other appropriate measures of fair value. Such evaluations, where applicable and pertinent, shall be used in lieu of actual measure of cost in determining the wage paid to any employee. In determining the wage of a tipped employee, the amount paid such employee by his employer shall be deemed to be increased on account of tips by an amount determined by the employer, but not by an amount in excess of 50 per centum of the applicable minimum wage rate, except that in the case of an employee who (either himself or acting through his representative) shows to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the actual amount of tips received by him was less than the amount determined by the employer as the amount by which the wage paid him was deemed to be increased under this sentence, the amount paid such employee by his employer shall be deemed to have been increased by such lesser amount.

(n) "Resale" shall not include the sale of goods to be used in residential or farm building construction, repair, or maintenance: Provided, That the sale is recognized as a bona fide retail sale in the industry.

(0) Hours Worked.-In determining for the purposes of sections 206 and 207 of this title the hours for which an employee is employed, there shall be excluded any time spent in changing clothes or washing at the beginning or end of each workday which was excluded from measured working time during the week involved by the express terms of or by custom or practice under a bona fide collectivebargaining agreement applicable to the particular employee.

(p) "American vessel" includes any vessel which is documented or numbered under the laws of the United States.

(q) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Labor.

(r) "Enterprise" means the related activities performed (either through unified operation or common control) by any person or persons for a common business purpose, and includes all such activities whether performed in one or more establishments or by one or more corporate or other organizational units including departments of an establishment operated through leasing arrangements, but shall not include the related activities performed for such enterprise by an independent contractor: Provided, That, within the meaning of this subsection, a retail or service establishment which is under independent ownership shall not be deemed to be so operated or controlled as to be other than a separate and distinct enterprise by reason of any arrangement, which includes, but is not necessarily limited to, an agreement, (1) that it will sell, or sell only, certain goods specified by a particular manufacturer, distributor, or advertiser, or (2) that it will join with other such establishments in the same industry for the purpose of collective purchasing, or (3) that it will have the exclusive right to sell the goods or use the brand name of a manufacturer, distributor, or advertiser within a specified area, or by reason of the fact it occupies premises leased to it by a person who also leases premises to other retail or service establishments. For purposes of this subsection, the activities performed by any person or persons

(1) in connection with the operation of a hospital, an institution primarily engaged in the care of the sick, the aged, the mentally ill or defective who reside on the premises of such institution, a school for mentally or physically handicapped or gifted children, an elementary or secondary school, or an institution of higher education (regardless of whether or not such hospital, institution, or school is public or private or operated for profit or not for profit), or

(2) in connection with the operation of a street, suburban or interurban electric railway, or local trolley or motorbus carrier, if the rates and services of such railway or carrier are subject to regulation by a State or local agency (regardless of whether or not such railway or carrier is public or private or operated for profit or not for profit), shall be deemed to be activities performed for a business purpose.

(s) "Enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce" means an enterprise which has employees engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, including employees handling, selling, or otherwise working on goods that have been moved in or produced for commerce by any person, and which

(1) during the period February 1, 1967, through January 31, 1969, is an enterprise whose annual gross volume of sales made or business done is not less than $500,000 (exclusive of excise taxes at the retail level which are separately stated) or is a gasoline service establishment whose annual gross volume of sales is not less than $250,000 (exclusive of excise taxes at the retail level which are separately stated), and beginning February 1, 1969, is an enterprise whose annual gross volume of sales made or business done is not less than $250,000 (exclusive of excise taxes at the retail level which are separately stated);

(2) is engaged in laundering, cleaning, or repairing clothing or fabrics;

(3) is engaged in the business of construction or reconstruction, or both; or

(4) is engaged in the operation of a hospital, an institution primarily engaged in the care of the sick, the aged, the mentally ill or defective who reside on the premises of such institution, a school for mentally or physically handicapped or gifted children, an elementary or secondary school, or an institution of higher education (regardless of whether or not such hospital, institution, or school is public or private or operated for profit or not for profit).

Any establishment which has as its only regular employees the owner thereof or the parent, spouse, child, or other member of the immediate family of such owner shall not be considered to be an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce or a part of such an enterprise, and the sales of such establishment shall not be included for the purpose of determining the annual gross volume of sales of any enterprise for the purpose of this subsection.

(t) "Tipped employee” means any employee engaged in an occupation in which he customarily and regularly receives more than $20 a month in tips.

(u) "Man-day" means any day during which an employee performs any agricultural labor for not less than one hour.

(v) "Elementary school" means a day or residential school which provides elementary education, as determined under State law.

(w) "Secondary school" means a day or residential school which provides secondary education, as determined under State law. (June 25, 1938, ch. 676, § 3, 52 Stat. 1060; 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 2, § 1, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7873, 60 Stat. 1095; Oct. 26, 1949, ch. 736, § 3, 63 Stat. 911; May 5, 1961, Pub. L. 87-30, § 2, 75 Stat. 65; Sept. 23, 1966, Pub. L. 89-601, title I, §§ 101-103, title II, § 215 (a), 80 Stat. 830, 837.)

AMENDMENTS

1966 Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 89-601, § 102(b), expanded the definition of employer to include a state or a political subdivision thereof with respect to employees in a hospital, institution, or school referred to in the last sentence of subsec. (r) of this section, or in the operation of a railway or carrier referred to in such sentence.

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 89-601, § 103 (a), excluded from the definition of "employee," when that term is used in the definition of the term "man-day," any agricultural employee who is the parent, spouse, child, or other member of his employer's immediate family and any agricultural hand harvest laborer, paid on a piece rate basis, who commutes daily from his permanent residence to the farm on which he is so employed, and who has been employed in agriculture less than 13 weeks during the preceding calendar year.

Subsec. (m). Pub. L. 89-601, § 101(a), added provisions for determining the wage of a tipped employee. Subsec. (n). Pub. L. 89-601, § 215(a), struck out provision which directed that the definition of "resale" was not applicable when "resale" was used in subsection (s) (1) of this section.

Subsec. (r). Pub. L. 89-601, § 102(a), extended activities performed for a business purpose to include activities in the operation of hospitals, institutions for the sick, aged, or mentally ill or defective, schools for the handicapped, elementary and secondary schools, institutions of higher learning, or street, suburban, or interurban electric railway or local trolley or motorbus carriers if subject

to regulation by a state or local agency regardless of whether public or private or whether operated for profit or not for profit.

Subsec. (s). Pub. L. 89-601, § 102(c), removed the gross annual business level tests of $1,000,000 for retail and service enterprises, street, suburban. or interurban electric railways or local trolley or motorbus carriers, and brought within the coverage of the gross annual business goods that have been moved in or produced for commerce, test all enterprises having employees engaged in commerce in the production of goods for commerce, including employees handling, selling, or otherwise working on lowered the minimum gross annual volume test for covered enterprises from $1,000,000 to $500,000 for the period from Feb. 1, 1967, through Jan. 31, 1969, and to $250,000 for the period after Jan. 31, 1969, retained the $250,000 annual gross volume test for coverage of gasoline service establishments, and expanded coverage to include laundering or cleaning services, construction or reconstruction activities, or operation of hospitals, certain institutions for the care of the sick, aged, or mentally ill, certain speclal schools, and institutions of higher learning regardless of annual gross gross volume.

Subsec. (t). Pub. L. 89-601. § 101(b), added subsec. (t).

Subsec. (u). Pub. L. 89-601, § 103(b), added subsec. (u).

Subsecs. (v), (w). Pub. L. 89-601, § 102(d), added subsecs. (v), (w).

1961-Subsec. (m). Pub L. 87-30, § 2(a), provided for exclusion from wages under a collective-bargaining agreement the cost of board, lodging, or other facilities and authorized the Secretary to determine the fair value of board, lodging, or other facilities for defined classes of employees in defined areas to be used in lieu of actual cost.

Subsec. (n). Pub. L. 87-30, § 2(b), inserted ", except as used in subsection (s) (1) of this section,".

Subsecs. (p)-(s). Pub. L. 87-30, § 2(c), added subsecs. (p)-(s).

1949-Subsec. (b). Act Oct. 26, 1949, § 3(a), substituted "between" for "from" following "States or", and "and" for "to" preceding "any place".

Subsec. (1). Act Oct. 26, 1949, § 3(b), inserted "closely related" proceding "process" and substituted "directly essential" for "necessary" following "occupation".

Subsec. (1) (1). Act Oct. 26, 1949, § 3(c), included parental employment of a child under 16 years of age in an occupation found by the Secretary of Labor to be hazardous for children between the ages of 16 and 18 years, in the definition of oppressive child labor. Subsecs. (n) and (o). Act Oct. 26, 1949, § 3(d) added subsecs. (n) and (o).

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1966 AMENDMENT Section 602 of Pub. L. 89-601 provided in part that: "Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the amendments made by this Act [amending this section and sections 206, 207, 213, 214, 216, 218, and 255 of this title] shall take effect on February 1, 1967."

sec

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1961 AMENDMENT Section 14 of Pub. L. 87-30 provided that: "The amendments made by this Act [to this section and tions 204-208, 212-214, 216 and 217 of this title] shall take effect upon the expiration of one hundred and twenty days after the date of its enactment [May 5, 1961], except as otherwise provided in such amendments and except that the authority to promulgate necessary rules, regulations, or orders with regard to amendments made by this Act, under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and amendments thereto [this chapter], including amendments made by this Act, may be exercised by the Secretary on and after the date of enactment of this Act [May 5, 1961]."

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1949 AMENDMENT Amendment of section by act Oct. 26, 1949, as effective ninety days after Oct. 26, 1949, see note set out under section 202 of this title.

SHORT TITTLE OF 1966 AMENDMENT Section 1 of Pub. L. 89-601 provided: "That this Act [amending this section and sections 206, 207, 213, 214,

216, 218, and 255 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 207 and 214 of this title, former section 1082 of Title 5, and section 2000e-14 of Title 42] may be cited as the 'Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1966'."

SHORT TITLE

Section 1 of Pub. L. 87-30 provided: "That this Act [amending this section and sections 204-208, 212-214, 216 and 217 of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 213 of this title] may be cited as the 'Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1961'."

TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS

References to the Chief of the Children's Bureau in subsec. (1) were changed to Secretary of Labor by 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 2, and set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, which transferred the functions of the Children's Bureau and its Chief under sections 201-216 and 217-219 of this title to the Secretary of Labor to be performed under his direction and control by such officers and employees of the Department of Labor as he designates.

CROSS REFERENCES

Agricultural employment as including activities within subsection (f) of this section, see section 1467 (1) of Title 7, Agriculture.

General provisions as to registry and documents of vessels, see chapter 2 of Title 46. Shipping.

Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947, sections 251-262 of this title, as affected by subsec. (0), see section 216 note of this title.

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in sections 207, 213 of this title; title 7 sections 1467, 2042; title 49 section 303. § 204. Administration.

(a) There is created in the Department of Labor a Wage and Hour Division which shall be under the direction of an Administrator, to be known as the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division (in this chapter referred to as the "Administrator"). The Administrator shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(b) The Administrator may, subject to the civilservice laws, appoint such employees as he deems necessary to carry out his functions and duties under this chapter and shall fix their compensation in accordance with chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of Title 5. The Administrator may establish and utilize such regional, local, or other agencies, and utilize such voluntary and uncompensated services, as may from time to time be needed. Attorneys appointed under this section may appear for and represent the Administrator in any litigation, but all such litigation shall be subject to the direction and control of the Attorney General. In the appointment, selection, classification, and promotion of officers and employees of the Administrator, no political test or qualification shall be permitted or given consideration, but all such appointments and promotions shall be given and made on the basis of merit and efficiency.

(c) The principal office of the Administrator shall be in the District of Columbia, but he or his duly authorized representative may exercise any or all of his powers in any place.

(d) The Secretary shall submit annually in January a report to the Congress covering his activities for the preceding year and including such information, data, and recommendations for further legislation in connection with the matters covered by