Maneja

This case must be reversed for error in approach. Waialua initiated the procedure by petition for declaratory judgment. The trial court, misled by the nature of the cause and the attitudes of the parties, decided the wrong issue.

The status of Waialua was tried out. It was contended by Waialua that it was engaged in agriculture, and therefore all of its employees were exempt from application of the statute. The trial court, in its first declaration, which was reversed for lack of findings, and in its present declaration and judgment, took the converse position. It has held that Waialua, through corporate affiliations, interlocking directorates and factor relationships, was a manufacturer of refined sugar on the mainland, and there engaged in interstate and foreign commerce.

By agreement of all parties and the Department of Labor, that Court finds that all employees of Waialua except one group “are engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce.” Therefore, it was concluded that every employee of Waialua on Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, was subject to the drastic provisions of the Act for each work week in which he did not spend every employed hour in an activity…