Employment Bulletin
Last month, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) announced in a press release that it has helped more than 5,300 oil and gas workers recover nearly $4.5 million in back wages for unpaid overtime and other wage violations as a result of an “ongoing multiyear enforcement initiative.” The DOL attributed the wage violations, in part, to the structure of the oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. According to the DOL, job sites “that used to be run by a single company can now have dozens of smaller contractors performing work, which can create downward economic pressure on lower level subcontractors,” which can lead to noncompliance with wage and hour laws and regulations.