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…
A lawsuit has been filed by former drilling supervisors seeking unpaid overtime in federal court in Laredo against Cheyenne Petroleum Company. Cheyenne is a privately held oil and gas exploration company. According…
BP has announced plans to layoff a massive number of people. BP’s CEO Bernard Looney said the company would layoff 10,000 employees, equating to roughly 15% of the oil major’s global workforce….
Overtime cases filed under the FLSA may be brought individually or as a collective action, where the claimant seeks to pursue claims on behalf of other similarly situated workers. In collective cases,…