Oil and gas industry workers collect back pay for FLSA violations
Environmental consulting firm Groundwater and Environmental Services, Inc. (GES) is going to pay 69 employees from Pennsylvania and West Virginia a total of more than $187,000 in back wages for alleged time and attendance violations as the result of misclassifications. This investigation was conducted by the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division as part of a multi-year effort to crack down on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations in the oil and gas industry.
"Although the company claimed employees who gathered water samples from their assigned areas were professionally exempt from receiving minimum wage and overtime, our investigation determined the exemption did not apply because the employees were not required to have advanced knowledge to perform their duties," said John DuMont, director of the Pittsburgh WHD district office.
The company's junior scientists and junior baseline samplers were allegedly paid a flat hourly wage for all of their employee attendance, regardless of the number of hours they spent on the job in a given week. GES had classified them as exempt workers when their positions and job duties did not line up with requirements stated in the FLSA.
Moreover, the employer was not keeping accurate records of employees' time and attendance, which is another violation. Companies can avoid expensive and embarrassing employee claims by using a payroll processing system and timeclock to account for all hours worked and calculate proper pay.
"Although the company claimed employees who gathered water samples from their assigned areas were professionally exempt from receiving minimum wage and overtime, our investigation determined the exemption did not apply because the employees were not required to have advanced knowledge to perform their duties," said John DuMont, director of the Pittsburgh WHD district office.
The company's junior scientists and junior baseline samplers were allegedly paid a flat hourly wage for all of their employee attendance, regardless of the number of hours they spent on the job in a given week. GES had classified them as exempt workers when their positions and job duties did not line up with requirements stated in the FLSA.
Moreover, the employer was not keeping accurate records of employees' time and attendance, which is another violation. Companies can avoid expensive and embarrassing employee claims by using a payroll processing system and timeclock to account for all hours worked and calculate proper pay.
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