Workers for OD Inspections, Inc., a leading provider of inspection services to the oil and gas industry, recently filed a collective action against the company for unpaid wages. The complaint alleges that the company misclassified its workers as exempt from receiving overtime pay by claiming they were independent contractors. This lawsuit aims to represent salaried inspectors, inspector helpers and other workers in similar positions in order to recover unpaid overtime from the service provider.
OD Inspections went from classifying its workers as W-2 employees earning overtime to considering them 1099 independent contractors on a salary at some point within the last three years. Even though they changed the workers’ classification, the company kept their job structure, duties and long hours the same. The company continued to control every aspect of the inspectors day-to-day activities. The complaint alleges that the company treated the inspectors more like employees but failed to provide them with any of the benefits, such as overtime pay. Due to the company controlling their work schedules, job assignments, and providing them with the necessary equipment, inspectors were wholly economically dependent on the company. OD Inspections has allegedly used this tactic of misclassifying its inspectors as independent contractors to avoid paying them for overtime hours when working over 40 hours per workweek under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).
Unfortunately, misclassifying workers as independent contractors is all to common in the oil and gas industry. In this matter, affected employees may include all salaried inspectors and/or inspector helpers who work or worked for OD Inspections, Inc. during the last three years. If you would like more information regarding this matter, do not hesitate to contact our firm, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP, at (212)300-0375. Additionally, if you work in the industry and believe you may be owed wages, call us for a free and confidential phone consultation to see if you may have a claim or visit our website for helpful information regarding your rights.
You can also view the filed complaint here.