Judge approves preliminary class-action suit against Denver oil and gas companies 

From Colorado Politics, Michael Karlik discusses a class action lawsuit by safety consultants for oil and gas companies were misclassified as independent contractors. Michael writes:

A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a class-action lawsuit against two oil and gas companies with headquarters in Denver, which alleges they violated federal labor laws in failing to pay their safety consultants overtime.

Morgan Buffington sued Ovintiv USA Inc. (formerly Encana Corporation) and Newfield Exploration Company — which is now part of Ovintiv — claiming that he was a safety consultant between 2016 and 2019 and was treated as an independent contractor. He reportedly received a flat rate per day, but often worked in excess of 12 hours per day without overtime compensation.

Buffington, of Oklahoma, alleged his experience was similar to that of other safety consultants for Ovintiv nationwide, and moved to certify his lawsuit as a class action for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In a July 16 order, U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore authorized Buffington to work with the extraction companies to draft a notification for all members of the class. The judge noted he was not reaching any decision about the merits of Buffington’s allegations.

“If the facts are as Defendants contend, they will have an opportunity to seek decertification and such other relief as they deem appropriate,” Moore explained.

…

“While Buffington was classified as an independent contractor, he was regularly on call for Ovintiv and was expected to drop everything and work whenever needed,” Buffington alleged in his complaint in arguing he was an employee under the law. “Ovintiv controlled all the significant or meaningful aspects of the job duties performed by Buffington.”

Read the full story at Judge approves preliminary class-action suit against Denver oil and gas companies | Courts | coloradopolitics.com