LAFAYETTE – A former employee of DrilTech is filing a class-action suit against the company claiming that he was not paid his proper wages and overtime.
Kelly Baker, individually and on behalf of those similarly situated, filed a class-action suit against DrilTech LLC on March 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District Court of Louisiana, Lafayette Division, over alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New Mexico Minimum Wage Act (NMMWA).
Baker asserts that he was hired as a measurement-while-drilling field employee for DrilTech, working across the U.S. and New Mexico. His duties allegedly included operating oilfield machinery, collecting/relaying data, and reporting daily activities to field supervisors. Baker alleges that was typically scheduled to work 84 hours per work week but would often times work in excess of that.
Baker claims that DrilTech denied him any overtime pay for any and all the hours he worked in excess of 40 hours a week. He asserts that he was only paid a base wage and/or day-rate or bonus. Baker asserts that DrilTech willingly and knowingly failed to pay him and those similarly situated the overtime compensation and has violated the FLSA and NMMWA.
Baker is now asking the court to certify that this case is a collective and class-action suit; find the defendant liable for violations of the FLSA and NMMWA; award all unpaid wages, liquidated damages, treble damages, the cost of the suit, attorney fees, pre- and post-judgment interest; and reward any other relief deemed just by the court. Baker is demanding a jury trial and is represented by Kenneth W. DeJean from the Law Offices of Kenneth W. DeJean in Lafayette; Michael A. Josephson, Andrew Dunlap, Lindsay R. Itkin and Jessica M. Bresler from Fibich, Leebron, Copeland, Briggs, & Josephson in Houston; and Richard J. “Rex” Burch of Bruckner Burch LLP in Houston.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana Case number 6:16-cv-00309