(CN) — Oilfield directional drillers who routinely pull 84-hour weeks and earn up to $200,000 a year may or may not be owed overtime by Schlumberger Technology Corp. A three-judge Fifth Circuit panel wrestled with that dispute Wednesday, questioning when a paycheck stops being a true “salary” and starts looking like disguised day-rate pay.
Schlumberger classified the plaintiffs as exempt “highly compensated employees” under the Fair Labor Standards Act, paying them a guaranteed $47,000 annual base salary — $1,826 every two weeks — plus daily “rig bonuses” that often made up 60 to 80% of their total compensation. The workers say the bonuses were really ordinary wages for their normal 12-hour, seven-day rig shifts, meaning Schlumberger owed them overtime.
Additional Reads
Read Full Article: https://www.courthousenews.com/oil-company-appeals-drillers-pay-dispute/
