Class action challenges company’s nonpayment of travel and meeting time

Whether to pay any travel time for employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) can be complicated. Those who believe they should be compensated for the time often challenge nonpayment. A dispute over travel time with one individual can sometimes even blossom into a class action lawsuit involving a large number of current and former employees. An oilfield employer recently found itself battling exactly that sort of expanding lawsuit.

Housing, worksites, and travel

Evolution Well Services Operating, LLC, provides a variety of oilfield services to the fracturing industry. Some employees are assigned to 14-day rotations while working at remote well sites. Before beginning each rotation, they traveled from their homes to housing provided by Evolution. After completing the 14-day rotations, they  left the employer-provided housing and returned home.

During the rotations, Evolution frequently held morning meetings with workers on-site at the employer-provided housing before they left for the worksite. The meetings, which generally lasted 15 to 20 minutes, included discussions with supervisors, temperature checks, and occasionally drug testing.

Each day, employees traveled between the employer-provided housing to remote worksites. On average, the commute was a three-hour roundtrip. Employees claimed they performed some work tasks during their daily commute.

Class action

Evolution employees and former employees are pursuing a class action lawsuit against the company, claiming they should have been paid for: