PITTSBURGH — A group of service supervisors for oilfield services company Weatherford International filed a class action suit against the company for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The suit comes after other fracking well operators and suppliers were also hit with FLSA lawsuits earlier in the month, such as Pilot Flying J, which was sued by an employee for unpaid overtime, and Superior Energy Resources LLC, which was also hit by an overtime class action suit. The fracking supervisors alleged in their suit that Weatherford misclassified them as exempt employees under FLSA.
Misclassified Fracking Supervisors
The class representatives, Jonathan Imhoff and Glen Aurelius, alleged in the suit against Weatherford that they and others in the same position were wrongly classified as exempt employees even though their day-to-day operations are exclusively controlled by a representative of the company. The suit alleges that the supervisors in the class sometimes work more than 100 hours a week and are not paid overtime at one-and-one-half times their regular rate of pay for hours over 40 hours that they worked in one workweek, as required by FLSA. According to the suit, at least 30 service supervisors were misclassified, when in fact their duties show that they should be classified as nonexempt.
Service Supervisors Did Not Exercise Managerial Duties
Under FLSA, executive employees are considered exempt from FLSA’s requirements. To qualify for exemption, the employee must be compensated on a salary basis, have the primary duty of managing a department or subdivision, direct the work of two or more employees, and have authority to hire or fire other employees or have some input over hiring, firing, or promotion decisions. In this lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that a Weatherford representative exercised control over daily operations, not the plaintiffs, which would support their classification as nonexempt employees. Specifically, the suit states that a Weatherford representative did the traditional managerial work, and that the plaintiffs were more go-betweens for the clients and the fracking crew. The plaintiffs also indicated that there were some employees in the same position who performed substantially similar work were classified as nonexempt and paid fair overtime wages.
If you believe that your employer is not properly paying you for the hours you work, including any overtime, because you are misclassified as an exempt employee, you may have a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Our knowledgeable team of fair labor standards lawyers can be reached at (855) 754-2795. You may also complete our Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our legal team will evaluate your claim. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement. Time is limited for filing wage and overtime complaints so it is important to call today!