The oilfield giant, Hess Corporation, has been hit with yet another lawsuit seeking to recover unpaid wages for its oilfield workers. The wage lawsuit alleges that Hess Corporation failed to pay certain oilfield workers overtime pay as required by state and federal law. The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for unpaid overtime for worked in excess of forty hours per workweek. Affected employees include any current or former oilfield workers such as Rig Clerks or other similarly situated employees who were paid a day rate while working for Hess nationwide within the last three years.
The lawsuit alleges that these workers regularly worked more than 40 hours a week and the Hess Corporation did not pay them overtime. Instead, the company paid them a fixed amount per day worked in the field regardless of the amount of hours they worked. Hess’s policy of paying these employees a day rate, with no overtime pay, violates the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the North Dakota Wage laws. Additionally, the lawsuit claims Hess has engaged in a widespread pattern and practice of violating the FLSA.
Unfortunately, the oil industry has many wage related issues. They frequently misclassify individuals as exempt from receiving overtime pay. Instead, employees will be paid a flat rate, or a day rate for all hours worked. This is especially true when employees work for several weeks straight and anywhere from 10 to 12 hours per day. Under federal law, employees cannot be paid a day rate and have to be paid overtime pay when they work over 40 hours in a week.
Current and former oilfield workers such as Rig Clerks and other similarly situated employees of Hess may have an overtime claim. Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP is seeking to represent workers who are misclassified as exempt when they are actually entitled to overtime pay. Please contact Fitapelli & Schaffer at (212) 300-0375 to see if you are eligible to join the case or visit our website fslawfirm.com for more information.