Hourly employees of an energy industry leader, Dominion Energy, have recently been notified that their class action lawsuit for unpaid wages has been settled for $3.8 million. The class action lawsuit was brought against Dominion Energy under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for not paying its hourly employees overtime at the time and a half rate when working over 40 hours per week. The international producer and transporter of energy was accused of paying its employees the same rate for all hours worked. This method of paying “straight time for overtime” is in direct violation of the FLSA and denied its employees who averaged more than 50 hours per week their hard-earned pay.
More than 350 hourly employees of Dominion Energy stand to benefit from this settlement. Affected employees include those who worked with the company at any point from May 14, 2015, until July 30, 2019. Each affected employee will be eligible to receive on average, about $10,500 in back wages. Although Dominion Energy did not admit any wrong doing in this matter, the settlement can be considered extremely favorable for its employees. Even after attorney fees and costs, affected employees in this matter are set to receive over 130% of their two-year owed wages and 90% of their three-year damages from the net settlement.
Hourly employees for oil and gas companies in the energy industry are often left without overtime pay. Many times, the potential wage violation can be less straightforward. For example, a company may pay a day rate or set salary and fail to take into account all of the hours worked, and by doing so, avoid paying overtime rates correctly. To make sure you are being paid properly, call one of our overtime pay attorneys at Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP at (212) 300-0375. Our firm offers a free phone consultation where you can discover if you may have a potential claim with a current or former employer. You can also view additional information by visiting our website .