Overtime dispute erupts over Texas companies' exemption of employees
Class action suits were recently filed against Enterprise Products Partners and American Commercial Lines for failing to pay their employees overtime, according to the Southeast Texas Record.
The plaintiffs - who worked for the companies as tankermen at some point within the past three years - were paid a day rate with no overtime compensation even though they worked an average of 84 hours per work week, the news source reports.
According to Andrew Bryant, who filed the law suits, the defendants erroneously categorized tankermen under the seaman exemption of the overtime requirements set by the Fair Labor Standards Act. However, they do not meet the seaman criteria due to the fact that they spend more than 20 percent of their time performing duties related to loading, unloading and handling liquid cargo.
"The defendants knowingly, willfully or in reckless disregard carried out their illegal pattern or practice of failing to pay the plaintiff and all those similarly situated overtime compensation," the suit alleges, as quoted by the news source.
According to the FLSA, a minimum of time-and-a-half must be paid for every hour of non-exempt employee attendance that exceeds 40 hours in one work week.
The plaintiffs - who worked for the companies as tankermen at some point within the past three years - were paid a day rate with no overtime compensation even though they worked an average of 84 hours per work week, the news source reports.
According to Andrew Bryant, who filed the law suits, the defendants erroneously categorized tankermen under the seaman exemption of the overtime requirements set by the Fair Labor Standards Act. However, they do not meet the seaman criteria due to the fact that they spend more than 20 percent of their time performing duties related to loading, unloading and handling liquid cargo.
"The defendants knowingly, willfully or in reckless disregard carried out their illegal pattern or practice of failing to pay the plaintiff and all those similarly situated overtime compensation," the suit alleges, as quoted by the news source.
According to the FLSA, a minimum of time-and-a-half must be paid for every hour of non-exempt employee attendance that exceeds 40 hours in one work week.
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