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Independent Contractors Oil & Gas

Independent contractors are individuals or entities that perform work for other individuals or entities, but are not employees of those individuals or entities. Whether a worker is an employee or an independent... more +
Independent contractors are individuals or entities that perform work for other individuals or entities, but are not employees of those individuals or entities. Whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor is not always an easy determination. However, due to differences in tax and liability treatment, misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor can have serious consequences. Autonomy is the defining feature of independent contractor arrangements. Independent contractors control the manner and method of how work is performed while payers control the desired result. Control over schedule and number of hours worked, ownership of equipment or tools, permanency of relationship, and acceptance of jobs from multiple entities are all possible factors in determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor.   less -
Gray Reed

More Guidance on Worker Classification for the Energy Industry

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This post is a summary of a more detailed Client Alert prepared by Gray Reed’s labor and employment practice group. Recall our recent post on the Department of Labor’s new “Economic Realities Test” for classifying...more

Gray Reed

Employee or Independent Contractor? Know the New Rules

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The Department of Labor recently made key changes to its rules in a way that will affect the oil and gas sector. The new rule rescinds a Trump Administration rule that had simplified the process of classifying workers as...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Fifth Circuit Rules Day Rate Compensation Does Not Satisfy Requirement of Payment on a Salaried Basis for Exempt Status

The issue of the proper application of the highly compensated employee exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as it applies to employees paid on a “day-rate” basis in the oil and gas industry, has been a hotly...more

Morgan Lewis

Initial Takeaways from the American Jobs Plan

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The Biden-Harris administration announced its American Jobs Plan, a legislative framework laying out an ambitious $2 trillion investment in physical and human infrastructure, on March 31. The bulk of the proposed spending is...more

Epstein Becker & Green

Non-Compete Boilerplate Loses Steam Where Independent Contractor Receives Call and Confidences Directly

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The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana issued an opinion on November 24, 2020 in Titan Oil & Gas Consultants LLC v. David W. Willis and RIGUP, Inc., a case addressing application of a...more

Robins Kaplan LLP

Financial Daily Dose 8.11.2020 | Top Story: McDonalds Sues Former CEO Over Series of Workplace Affairs

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Eight months after firing its CEO, Steve Easterbrook, for “sexting with a subordinate,” McDonald’s has sued Easterbrook for allegedly “lying, concealing evidence and fraud” in what appears to be a series of other workplace...more

Gray Reed

Was the 86th Texas Legislature Good to the Oil Business?

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The answer depends on what part of “the oil business” you care about. The 86th Legislature produced a few, but not many, changes in laws affecting the business, (most going into effect on September 1). ...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Fifth Circuit Holds Directional Drillers Are Independent Contractors

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that a group of directional driller consultants were independent contractors, not employees, in large part due to their highly specialized skills, degree of...more

Jackson Walker

New Fifth Circuit Decision Upholds Independent Contractor Status for Directional Driller Consultants Under the Fair Labor...

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Claim by Directional Drillers for Overtime Pay. The boom for domestic energy producers, particularly in the Permian Basin, has been accompanied by the companion challenge of how to compensate transient oilfield professionals...more

Locke Lord LLP

Oil & Gas Industry Is Next Target for Independent Contractor Compliance Misclassification Lawsuits

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A cottage industry for plaintiffs’ class action lawyers has been independent contractor (IC) misclassification lawsuits, and one of the industries taking the brunt of those types of legal proceedings is energy, particularly...more

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

PA Requires Oil and Gas Lessees to Withhold State Income Taxes from Nonresident Lessors

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Under Act 43 of 2017 beginning January 1, 2018, anyone that pays Pennsylvania-source non-employee compensation or business income to a non-resident individual or disregarded entity that has a non-resident member, and is...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Louisiana Court Rejects Landman’s Whistleblower Claim Based on Finding That He Was an Independent Contractor

A recent Louisiana Court of Appeal decision held that an oil and gas landman did not have a claim under the Louisiana environmental whistleblower statute, which protects employees from retaliation for reporting environmental...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

Wage and Hour Claims Surge in the Oil and Gas Industry

Since 2012, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) reports that it has recovered over $40 million in back wages for employees in the oil and gas industry.  Employers in the industry can expect claims to rise as the DOL...more

Saul Ewing LLP

$4.5 million wage settlement for Pa. and WVa. workers in oil and natural gas industry

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On Tuesday, December 9, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it has reached agreement with numerous employers in the oil and natural gas industry in Pennsylvania and West Virginia to provide 5,310 workers...more

K&L Gates LLP

Additional Risk: Does Your Company Have Additional Insured Coverage for Claims by Contractors’ Employees?

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One of the biggest risks oil and gas companies face is a blowout or other catastrophic event that causes serious injury or death. In the aftermath of such an event, companies often find themselves facing lawsuits by injured...more

Troutman Pepper

November 2014 Independent Contractor Compliance and Misclassification Update

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This month’s headline developments are two independent contractor misclassification class action lawsuits: one was filed in New York against a Silicon Valley giant, Google Inc., and the second was filed in California against...more

Baker Donelson

Oil and Gas Blog - Apparent Authority of a Landman, an Independent Contractor

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In PanAmerican Operating, Inc. v. Maud Smith Estate, the Texas Court of Appeals for the Eight District addressed risks associated with working through independent landmen....more

Gray Reed

When Is The Client Liable For The Acts Of The Independent Landman?

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PanAmerican Operating Inc. v. Maud Smith Estate highlights the perils of working through independent landmen: maintaining enough control to be sure the work is done as you like it, but also wanting authority to disavow his...more

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