A federal judge in Pennsylvania has dismissed a lawsuit alleging Canadian company Precision Drilling on allegations that the company failed to pay 1,006 oil rig workers adequate overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
In a seven-page summary judgment, U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann of the Middle District of Pennsylvania ended the eight-year legal battle last Tuesday, finding that the plaintiffs were unable to lay a foundation for their claims.
The ruling is important because a victory for the plaintiffs could have had implications for the drilling rig industry and possibly other blue collar fields because it may have obligated companies to pay workers for the time spent putting on and taking off personal protective gear, a group of Houston lawyers from Norton Rose Fulbright, who represented Precision in the case, explained in a firm press release.
The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in October 2011, alleging Precision failed to pay them for the time spent donning and doffing personal protective gear and walking to and from their rig assignment. Judge Brann certified the class in 2013.
A critical turning point in the litigation arrived a year ago, when Judge Brann decided to strike the testimony of plaintiffs’ expert, Dr. Ronald E. Bishop, who said in his report that the working environment on Precision’s drilling rigs warranted repayment because the accumulation of hazardous materials that accumulate on employees’ protective equipment makes it unsafe for workers to remove the equipment from the worksite.
Precision asked the court to strike Bishop’s testimony because his opinion was unreliable, and the court agreed to do so in December 2018.
With Bishop’s testimony struck, the remaining question was whether plaintiffs’ time spent donning and doffing their protective equipment and associated walking time should be compensated under the FLSA.
In a seven-page ruling, Judge Brann held that the answer is no.
“My finding on the compensability of donning and doffing controls whether the associated walking time is compensable,” Judge Brann wrote. “As I have found that donning and doffing here are not compensable, it follows that the donning and doffing do not constitute principal activities of the plaintiffs’ workday.”
The Norton Rose Fulbright team that secured the win for Precision included Carter Crow, Kimberly Cheeseman, Joseph Dole, Devin Wagner and Brett Young, who are all based in the firm’s Houston office.
The in-house legal team at Precision, which has significant operations in Houston, also played a significant role in the litigation, including Precision General Counsel Veronica Foley and Assistant General Counsel Tom Bowes.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers, Justin Swidler and Nicholas George of New Jersey law firm Swartz Swidler did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.