The Oil and Gas Industry is notorious for its illegal pay practices that deny employees overtime compensation. Companies frequently pay a day rate, or salary to their field workers. Regardless of the field employee’s job title, most employees are due overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a week. This also applies to Oil and Gas field workers who are incorrectly labeled as “independent contractors.”

The waste disposal industry is rife with pay violations, from automatic deductions for lunches employees never have the opportunity to take, to incorrectly applied “Chinese overtime,” to off the clock pre and post route vehicle inspections, or day rates that do not include overtime for hours worked over 40 these pay practices often violate Federal and State law and wrongfully deny workers wages they have earned.

Call Center Employees are frequently required to work off the clock. This can happen when a company requires employees to show up early to boot up their computers in order to be “call ready” by shift start, to clock out for short breaks under twenty minutes, or to spend time handling calls while logged out of the computer’s time keeping system. Regardless of what written policy the company has or what managers may tell their employees these policies are against both Federal and State laws and these policies cheat employees out of wages they have a right to.

All too often companies try to avoid paying the minimum wage and/or overtime by misclassifying employees as Independent Contractors. Just because an employer hands an employee a form and tells them they are an independent contractor does not mean that employee is an Independent Contractor under the law. If your employer dictates your hours, the manner in which you complete your work, or controls which jobs you must perform, then there is a good chance you have been misclassified as an Independent Contractor and that you are owed wages.

Just because an employee is paid a salary, day rate, or commission does not mean they are not owed overtime. In fact, many employees that are paid a job rate, day rate, salary, or commission are entitled to overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a week.

Many employees often assume, incorrectly, that breaks do not have to be paid for. This is a common misconception that employers are all too happy to take advantage of. The law on this issue however is very clear, all breaks of twenty minutes or less must be paid for. Lunch breaks on the other hand, do not have to be paid for, unless the employee is required to perform some work during the break, such as finishing a route or assisting customers when they approach the employee.

Overtime is not based solely off of an employee’s hourly rate. Commissions, bonuses, and other forms of additional compensation generally need to be included in the overtime calculation. For example, if an employee is paid $10.00 per hour and a commission of $100.00 in a certain week, their Overtime rate for that week is NOT simply $15.00 per hour ($10.00 x 1.5). Instead, the employer is required to include the $100.00 commission in the Overtime calculation.

Adverse employment decisions occur when an employer makes a decision, such as who to hire, fire, promote, or discipline based solely off an employee’s race, age, disability, religious beliefs, gender, or pregnancy status. It is illegal for employers to make these types of decisions based largely on these protected classes.

Harassment occurs when employers or employees makes offensive slurs, offensive remarks, threats, or offensive physical contact against an employee because the harassed employee is a member of one of the above mentioned protected classes.

It is important if you have faced harassment or other discriminatory acts to speak with an attorney immediately. These claims can be time barred if the employee does not take action within as few as 180 days.

Personal injury lawsuits can be filed when someone else’s carelessness or recklessness is responsible for injuries that you or a loved one sustained.

If you or a loved one has been injured, or worse, due to someone else’s actions you may have a claim for compensation under the law. Fill out the claim form here and one of our attorneys will reach out to you to discuss your potential claim.

The FDA recently announced a recall of Zantac, the popular heartburn medication. On September 13, 2019 the FDA announced that preliminary tests found high levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in ranitidine, also known by its brand name, Zantac.

NDMA is a chemical impurity that could cause cancer over time, and has been the subject of prior recalls for other medications.

If you or a loved one has been taking Zantac for over a year then click here to see if you may have a claim for compensation. Time is of the essence, if you do not file your claim within the applicable statute of limitations (time limit), you may be prevented from filing a claim later on.