The Permian Basin cases I see most
Oilfield day-rate workers. The Permian runs on day rates: one number per day worked, no overtime, on hitches that put in 80 and 84-hour weeks. That pay plan usually violates federal law. The Supreme Court settled the question in Helix Energy v. Hewitt, holding that a day rate is not a salary and even highly paid day-rate workers are owed overtime. See Day Rate Pay and Overtime.
Pipeline inspectors. Inspectors on the gathering lines and mainlines are paid day rates or handed a 1099, often through inspection staffing firms, and worked past 40 hours every week. Most are owed overtime. See Pipeline Inspectors.
Welders. Rig welders with their own trucks, structural and pipe welders on facilities and fabrication, and welder's helpers all see day rates, straight time for overtime, and per diem schemes that hide part of the wage. See Welders.
Crude and frac sand haulers. Drivers paid by the load or the day, running long hours across the basin, are frequently misclassified as contractors or denied the overtime premium.
1099 contractors of every kind. Service technicians, flowback hands, roustabouts, and field consultants handed a 1099. The economic reality of the work decides your status, not the paperwork.
Filing in the Permian Basin
Cases for Midland-Odessa and the surrounding counties are filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Midland-Odessa Division. I represent workers only, never employers.
What it costs
Nothing upfront. Free consultation, contingency fee. If there is no recovery, you pay nothing, not even the costs.