Bedrock PC 1099, LLC, an oilfield consulting firm, and EOG Resources, Inc. have been sued in federal court in Houston by a former water consultant for unpaid overtime. The lawsuit alleges that the former worker interviewed and was hired through Bedrock, and he worked exclusively as a water consultant at EOG. The lawsuit further alleges that while working for Defendants, the worker was misclassified as an independent contractor, despite the fact that he worked full time for Defendants, and virtually every aspect of his job was controlled by Defendants. According to the lawsuit, he worked as a water consultant for EOG from January of 2018 until March of 2020, and would typically work at least 14-16 hours per day, seven days per week. The lawsuit alleges that he received a day rate for each day he worked, regardless of the number of hours he worked in a given day or week, and never received overtime pay. The lawsuit alleges that there are a large number of water consultants that have been hired through Bedrock (and are paid through Bedrock) but have worked and/or are still working strictly at EOG, all of whom are classified as independent contractors and all of whom are paid a day rate and denied overtime pay.
The lawsuit was filed as a class action, alleging violations of the New Mexico overtime statute. The proposed class action consists of: All water consultants hired through Bedrock and working at EOG facilities in New Mexico at any time from at least January 1, 2015 until the present who were classified as independent contractors and paid a day-rate with no overtime and a collective action. The lawsuit is also filed as a collective action, alleging violations of the federal overtime laws. The proposed collective action consists of: All water consultants hired through Bedrock and working at EOG facilities during the past 3 years who were classified as independent contractors and paid a day-rate with no overtime. As with any collective action, in order to participate in the lawsuit, the claimant must affirmatively opt-in to the suit by signing a consent form that can be obtained by the plaintiff’s counsel, Josh Borsellino.
Oil and gas companies have for years devised pay schemes that violated state and federal overtime laws, and oilfield workers are often wrongfully denied overtime pay. It is very common for workers in the oil and gas sector to be misclassified as independent contractors and paid “straight time,” or a day rate and wrongfully refused overtime pay. If you or a friend or family member have not been paid overtime by a consulting company, an oilfield service company, oil and gas producer, or pipeline inspection company, consult an experienced overtime attorney to learn your legal rights.
About the author: Josh Borsellino is a Texas attorney who represents workers for unpaid overtime. For a free consultation, call 817.908.9861 or 432.242.7118, email Josh here or complete this online contact form.
