According to a press release from the Department of Labor, Shell Oil Co. and Motiva Enterprises LLC have agreed to pay $4,470,764 in overtime wages to more than 2,500 chemical and refinery employees.  The companies were alleged to have violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, by failing to pay their employees for time spent at mandatory pre-shift meetings.  The companies were alleged to have required the workers to come to the meetings before the start of their 12-hour shift. Because the pre-shift meetings were not considered work time, employees were not paid for all hours worked and did not receive overtime pay of one-and-a-half times their regular rate of pay as required by the FLSA.

If you work at a factory or warehouse and you and your co-workers are told that training, safety meetings or other mandatory, on-site events do not count as hours worked, you may be entitled to unpaid overtime.  Speak to an experienced overtime attorney to determine your legal rights.

Josh Borsellino is a Texas overtime attorney who represents workers to get them the overtime pay that they deserve.  For a free evaluation of your overtime pay issues, call 817.908.9861 or 432.242.7118 or complete this online form.