Oilfield Employees Worked 80-Hour Weeks for 40 Hours of Pay, Class Action Alleges

Tug Hill Wage Theft Class Action Lawsuit Overview:

• Who: A former-employee of the Tug Hill oil and gas company is suing the business
• Why: He says the company stiffed workers out of overtime pay by designating them as independent contractors instead of employees
• Where: The lawsuit was filed in a West Virginia federal court

An oil and gas company knowingly misclassified its workers, leading to oilfield employees being paid just 40 hours after working an 80-hour week for the company, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Lastephen Rogers filed the class action complaint Dec. 3 against Tug Hill Operating, LLC in a Virginia federal court, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Tug Hill is an oil and natural gas exploration and production company operating in the Appalachian basin in West Virginia and in South Texas that brings in more than $1 million per year, Rogers says.

According to the class action lawsuit, over the past three years, Tug Hill employed dozens of oilfield workers — including Rogers — as “company men” in West Virginia and Texas.

However, the class action alleges that the workers were misclassified by Tug Hill as independent contractors — meaning they were all paid day-rates without overtime — when they should have been classified as non-exempt employees. 

“Instead of paying overtime as required by the FLSA, Rogers and the other Tug Hill

company men were paid a daily rate with no overtime pay. This collective action seeks to recover the unpaid overtime wages and other damages owed to these workers,” the lawsuit states.

Rogers worked for Tug Hill from Jan. 2019 to July 2020. Throughout his tenure, he says he was paid a day-rate with no overtime compensation. 

Rogers typically worked more than 80 hours a week, and was regularly on call for Tug Hill, expected to “drop everything and work whenever needed,” he said. 

His co-workers also all allegedly worked in excess of 40 hours each week, and were often scheduled for 12-hour shifts for two or more weeks at a time. 

Rogers is looking to represent all Tug Hill drilling and completions consultants who were paid a flat amount for each day worked for Tug Hill with no overtime, over the past three years. 

He’s seeking certification of the class action, damages, unpaid wages, interest, fees and a jury trial

Meanwhile, in May, pipeline inspectors reached a $3.9 settlement agreement with Kinder Morgan Partners LP over claims the company failed to pay the oil and gas workers for overtime.

Have you ever worked overtime without proper compensation? Let us know in the comments. 

Rogers is represented by Anthony J. Majestro and James S. Nelson of Powell & Majestro PLLC and Richard J. Burch of Bruckner Burch PLLC.

The Tug Hill Wage Theft Class Action Lawsuit is Lastephen Rogers v. Tug Hill Operating LLC, Case No. 5:21-cv-00199, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.

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