Who do I represent?
- Rig welders on pipelines, facilities, and fabrication jobs
- Structural and pipe welders on industrial and plant projects
- Shop welders and fitters paid straight time past 40
- Welder's helpers paid day rates or piece rates
The rig welder trap
Companies argue that a welder who owns a truck and machine is an independent business. Courts look past the rig to the relationship: who sets the schedule, who assigns the work, who sets the rate, whose job is it. A rig welder working a company's project, on its hours and its rules, week after week, is an employee under the economic reality test. The truck earns a rig rate; it does not erase overtime rights.
Straight time for overtime
A large share of welder paychecks show the same hourly rate for hour 60 as for hour 30. Employers call it competitive; the law calls it a violation. The premium owed is half your regular rate for every overtime hour, and when per diem is really wages, the premium is calculated on the higher, true rate.
What it costs
Nothing upfront. Free consultation, contingency fee. If there is no recovery, you pay nothing, not even the costs.