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In this Bull Rogers overtime lawsuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico granted FLSA conditional certification to casing employees in Gowens v. Bull Rogers, Inc., No. 2:16-cv-00919-WJ-GBW (D.N.M.). Jack Siegel represented the workers.
On July 25, 2017, Judge William P. Johnson filed a Memorandum Opinion and Order (Doc. 43) granting the workers’ Motion for Notice to Potential Plaintiffs and Conditional Certification, with changes to the language of the proposed consent form. That let casing employees receive notice and join a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The workers alleged two pay policies:
Uncounted hours: when casing employees were paid on a piece-rate or quantity-of-work basis, the workers said their actual hours were not tracked or counted, so overtime hours went unpaid.
Overtime miscalculation: the workers said extra pay, such as non-discretionary bonuses, was left out of the regular rate used to figure overtime.
Conditional certification is an early step that allows notice to go out. It is not a finding that Bull Rogers broke the law.
Casing crews run pipe on long shifts at remote sites. When pay is figured by the joint, the foot or the job, it is easy for hours to go uncounted, and for bonuses to be left out of the overtime rate. Both issues can shrink an overtime check.
As general information, piece-rate pay does not remove a non-exempt worker’s right to overtime. Under 29 C.F.R. § 778.111, the regular rate for a pieceworker is figured from total weekly earnings, including production bonuses, divided by total hours worked, and the worker is owed an extra half-time for each hour over 40. That calculation depends on an accurate count of hours.
If you work or worked on a casing crew and your hours weren’t tracked, you were paid by the piece without overtime, or bonuses and allowances were left out of your overtime rate, you may have claims under the FLSA and state overtime laws.
A separate case, Calvillo v. Lewis Casing Crews, named a different employer.
When an employer fails to track hours for piece-rate workers, it violates the FLSA's recordkeeping requirements and makes it impossible to properly calculate overtime. Workers in this situation can use their own estimates and records to establish the hours they actually worked.
Yes. Under the FLSA, non-discretionary bonuses, truck allowances, safety bonuses, and per diem pay must generally be included in the regular rate calculation used to determine overtime pay. When an employer leaves these payments out, the overtime premium comes up short.
Yes. Casing workers perform physically demanding, manual labor that typically does not qualify for any FLSA exemption. They are entitled to overtime pay at 1.5 times their regular rate for all hours worked over 40 per week. Employers who fail to pay overtime to casing workers are violating federal and state overtime laws.
A dual-track overtime lawsuit pursues claims under both the FLSA (as a collective action where workers must opt in) and state law (as a Rule 23 class action where workers are automatically included unless they opt out). This approach maximizes the number of workers covered and the potential recovery by invoking both federal and state protections.
The FLSA collective action process begins with conditional certification, where the court authorizes notice to potential opt-in plaintiffs. Workers then have a set period to join by filing consent forms. After the opt-in period, the employer may move for decertification. If the collective survives, the case proceeds to trial or settlement.
If you did this kind of work for another employer and weren't paid overtime for hours over 40, tell us your job title, your employer and the state you worked in. We'll tell you plainly whether we think you have a case. Federal law makes it illegal to retaliate against you for asking.
Siegel Law Group PLLC concentrates in unpaid overtime cases under the FLSA and state wage laws. The firm has filed more than 100 federal overtime cases, obtained 50+ class and collective certifications in 20 federal judicial districts across 15 states, and recovered more than $100 million for workers. It has never represented an employer in a wage case. Free consultation. Contingency fee: we advance case costs, and they are repaid from any recovery. No recovery, no fee and no costs. Phone: (214) 790-4454 | Email: [email protected]
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Attorney responsible: Jack L. Siegel, Siegel Law Group PLLC, Dallas, Texas.
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"Certified" means a judge agreed the case could go forward for a group of workers at once, not just the one person who filed it. It is a step in the case, not the end of it.
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Jack L. Siegel of Siegel Law Group PLLC, Dallas, Texas, is responsible for the content of this page. He appears in federal courts in other states by admission to those courts or by leave of court, and is not licensed in every state shown in this list.
