Barbara A. Barker v. Raymond J. Donovan, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor

721 F.2d 271 Barbara A. BARKER, et al., Petitioners, v. Raymond J. DONOVAN, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor, Respondent. No. 82-7772. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Nov. 30, 1983. John William Cumming, Eureka, Cal., for petitioners. Sally E. Mathiasen, Washington, D.C., for respondent. 1 On Petition For Review Of A Final Determination Of The Secretary Of Labor. 2 Before KENNEDY and REINHARDT, Circuit Judges, and HOFFMAN, * District Judge. 3 WALTER E. HOFFMAN, Senior District Judge. 4 Petitioners, Barker, et al., are claiming benefits under the Redwood Employee Protection Program, Pub.L. No. 95-250, Secs. 201-213 , 92 Stat. 172 (1978) (REPP). In order to qualify for such benefits, petitioners must first establish that they worked for an "affected employer" as defined by Sec. 201(6) of the Act. The Secretary has refused to grant such status to petitioners' former employer. Petitioners seek review of this refusal. 5 The salient facts are fairly simple. The Simpson Timber Company (Simpson) owned a nursery facility at Korbel, California since 1975. On December 1, 1976, Simpson entered into a lease agreement with Hoehnke Nursery Company (Hoehnke),…