State Impact, a reporting project of National Public Radio stations, just published a good article summarizing the Halliburton’s recent $18 million settlement of a Department of Labor investigation addressing the companies policy of classifying over 1,000 oil and gas rig workers as exempt from the requirement that workers receive time and one-half overtime pay. The DOL alleged that workers holding job titles such as Field Service Representatives, Pipe Recovery Specialists, Drilling Technical Advisors, Perforating Specialists, and Reliability Tech Specialists were misclassified as overtime-exempt. This investigation is similar to lawsuits our law firm has successfully handled on behalf of Pennsylvania oil and gas workers holding positions such as Solids Control Technicians, Environmental Inspectors, Welding Inspectors, and Water Truck Drivers.
Pete Winebrake of our law firm is quoted in the State Impact article. As indicated, Attorney Winebrake points out that many fracking workers’ overtime rights are violated and observes that overtime rights violations seriously impact unemployment rates.
Here is a link to the State Impact article: State Impact Article: Halliburton agrees to pay $18M in back pay for overtime