Top 10 Reasons for Oilfield Overtime Lawsuits

We represent a lot of oilfield workers.  These oilfield workers have worked all over the country, including oilfields and shale plays in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Oilfield overtime lawsuits have been brought by myriad oilfield workers, including roustabouts, MWD operators, field engineers, wireline operators, tool pushers, field engineers, field hands, wireline operators, tool pushers, mud pushers and pressure control operators. While oilfield workers may have different jobs, all of these workers deserve proper overtime pay as non-exempt employees even when their employers may label them as “independent contractors.” Based on our experience helping a wide range of oilfield workers with overtime claims, we took it upon ourselves to summarize the the unpaid wage and overtime issues that lead our clients to have us file oilfield overtime lawsuits on their behalves

Asserting Your Oilfield Overtime Rights with SLG

As with any right, your right to wages and overtime compensation is only worth something if you decide to enforce your rights. If you hire the Siegel Law Group we won’t only go after the wages you are owed, we’ll go after double the amount of wages you are owed (liquidated damages) and attorneys’ fees.

If you feel like any of the top 10 list below applies to your position, your oilfield employer likely owes you a thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime wages. Give our attorneys a call at 214.790.4454 or use the contact form at the bottom of the page for a free consultation regarding any oilfield overtime lawsuits that you may have rights to assert in court.

Top 10 Ten Reasons for Oilfield Overtime Lawsuits

Paying Day Rate with Not Overtime. If your employer only pays you a day rate or day rate plus salary, you likely are owed overtime for all hours you work in excess of 40 in a week. This happens so much that we have a whole page dedicated to educating oilfield workers about the problem. The page can be found here.

Paying Only Straight Time and No Overtime. If you receive only straight time (same hourly rate) for the hours you work over 40 in a week, you are not being paid overtime. You should be receiving 1.5 times more for your overtime hours.

Receiving “Comp” Time Instead of Overtime. If you are work for a private, non-government oilfield company, your employer cannot pay you “comp” time instead of overtime.

Paying Overtime Incorrectly. All wages, including non-discretionary day or weekly bonuses, must be included when your employer calculates your overtime. Oilfield employers commonly fail to include bonuses in determining your overtime rates to commit oilfield wage theft.

Manager Misclassification aka Calling You a Manager to Cheat You from Overtime. Employers also call people “managers” or “supervisors” to avoid paying overtime. This does not change the fact that many alleged “managers” or “supervisors” are non-exempt employees due overtime under federal law. If you spend the majority of your time on something else than supervising employees, your employer has likely misclassified you to get out of paying overtime.

Not Paying for On-Call or Standby Time. If your employer forces you to be on “standby” and you cannot do anything else during your standby time, your oilfield employer should be paying you wages and overtime for that time.

“Off-the-Clock” Work. If you are asked not to record all of your hours or are asked to clock out before completing work, your employer is violating your overtime rights. You should be paid for all the time in which your employer suffers or permits you to work. Your employer may not just turn their back to this work in order to avoid payments.

Forced Work During Rest & Meal Breaks. When your rest or meal break is not totally uninterrupted, your employer must compensate you for it. Period.

Non-Payment of Travel Time Other than Work Commutes. Your employer does not have to pay you for the time your spend commuting between home and work. However, if you are required to travel overnight or between work sites during your shift, you should be compensated for your time.

Contact Us About Your Potential Oilfield Overtime Lawsuits

If you have been victimized by your oilfield employer’s pay practices, we’d like to talk to you. We don’t take unpaid wages lightly and neither should you. The faster we get to work on your claim, the faster we can work towards getting your unpaid wages and overtime. Please use the contact form below or give us a call or text today at 214.790.4454 for your free consultation.