Dive Brief:
- A Pennsylvania class-action lawsuit against Express Energy Service LLC, a Texas-based employer, claims that some workers routinely logged 84-hour weeks without receiving overtime pay.
- A report at Lawyers and Settlements says that the plaintiffs allege the violations fall under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and various other statutes observed by the state of Pennsylvania, and one other state, Ohio (the employees worked there too).
- The lawsuit also claims that Express Energy routinely schedules workers for 12-hour shifts without paying overtime, as mandated by federal and state laws. The workers add that they are not classed as management, which would short-circuit their request to be paid overtime.
Dive Insight:
This isn't the first time a case like this has made it into court in Pennsylvania. In September, a judge in federal court in Pennsylvania granted final approval to a settlement between ROC Service Company LLC and no fewer than 134 field workers with regard to similar overtime issues. That settlement came in at $1.25 million, reports Lawyers and Settlements.
The debate over classifying workers as exempt or non-exempt for overtime pay has been raging, and the Department of Labor is changing the rules under which overtime pay is required. On the face of it, this case looks to be a strong one for the workers, but it will have to play out in court.
