BISMARCK — Editors Note: Reports of this settlement were first published on August 17, 2015 by Bakken.com.
After being named in a federal class-action lawsuit claiming the company neglected to pay U.S. workers overtime wages, Calfrac Well Services Ltd., has agreed to a settlement for a reported $6 million to be paid out to over 1,000 workers, according to Bakken.com.
Calfrac Well Services Ltd., is a Canadian based fracking company with workers in Alberta, Canada in addition to Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Colorado, and North Dakota.
To pay overtime workers, the company reportedly calculated an “hourly” rate by dividing salaries and bonuses by the total hours worked and paying them 150% of the calculated rate for the overtime hours worked.
However, due to Fair Labor Standards Act regulations, overtime must be 150% of the standard hourly wage paid during a standard 40 hour work week. This means that Calfrac’s calculations for the standard rate should have only included 40 hours.
If the calculations only accounted for the standard 40 hour work week, all fracking workers would have received a significantly higher overtime wage amount.
U.S. District Judge Terrence McVerry of Pittsburgh announced the proposal as well as the next step of notifying members of the class-action of a future hearing to determine settlement fairness.
North Dakota Labor Regulation Information
For the most part, federal and North Dakota labor codes follow a uniform standard and hardly differ on the rights they grant standard state workers.
This uniformity includes a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour as mandated by both federal and North Dakota law.
The state gets its overtime pay laws from the Fair Labor Standards Act. The act requires that all hours worked over 40 in a standard 7-day work week be compensated with a rate of 150% the workers standard hourly wage.
However, this rule is frequently violated by employers as it is difficult to detect without the Department of Labor first receiving a complaint from an employee alleging that their employer is engaging in overtime violations.
If you believe that your employer is engaging in labor regulation violations, call (855) 754-2795 to determine if you can pursue legal action against your employer to reclaim lost or withheld wages. An employer will not be able to retaliate you for filing a lawsuit against them or assisting a government agency in an investigation.