Under the FLSA, which is the federal overtime law, in order to qualify for the “white collar” exemptions – the executive, professional, administrative and/or “highly compensated” exemptions – employees must meet both…
The Department of Labor recently issued an opinion letter which stated that day rate workers are not paid on a “salary basis” and thus cannot be subject to any exemptions which require…
Oilfield employees often allege that their employers have violated the federal or state overtime pay laws by failing to include bonus payments when calculating overtime pay. The Fifth Circuit recently issued an…
Defendants in overtime pay collective actions sometimes seek to take discovery before a motion to certify can be ruled on. A court in Ohio recently rejected an oilfield company’s efforts to stay…
A group of welders have prevailed on their efforts to conditionally certify a case for overtime pay. The plaintiff worked as a welder for Defendant Alpine Site Services, Inc. Alpine is a…
The oilfield industry is awash with third party consulting firms that outsource workers to production and service companies. These consulting entities purportedly function as staffing companies and usually classify their workers as…
Oilfield companies are increasingly relying on “consultants” hired by third party staffing firms for their well site personnel. Oilfield companies use consulting firms in an attempt to shield themselves from overtime liability….
A federal court in New Mexico recently found that an oil and gas company engaged in “confusing and misleading” communications with its workers about a proposed release of overtime claims. Defendant Mewbourne…
An increasing trend in Texas and across the country over the past 5 years has been the use of “consultants” rather than employees by large companies. This happens often in the oil…