Fifth Circuit Issues ‘Devastating’ Defeat for Oil and Gas Companies in Wage and Hour Dispute

Energy companies that compensate employees by the day – be it $200 or $1,000 – must still pay those people overtime because they are not considered exempted salaried personnel under the strict wording of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled late Thursday.

The federal appeals court ruling, which was 12 to 6, is a huge blow to energy companies who have relied for decades on the idea that they could escape paying overtime to certain experienced and higher-level workers by paying them an extra-high daily wage.