At Wednesday’s oral argument in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, the court will consider whether Michael Hewitt, an oil-rig worker, was wrongly denied overtime pay. At the heart of the case are rules allowing highly compensated “executive, administrative, or professional” employees to be exempt from overtime – but only if they are paid on a salary basis, whereas Hewitt was paid by the day. The question is when an employee who earns a day rate nonetheless qualifies as salaried.
Hewitt worked for Helix, a Houston-based oil and gas company, as a toolpusher on an offshore oil rig. His work schedule consisted of “hitches,” during which he would work 28 consecutive 12-hour days, at a rate of at least $963 per day. This added up to over $200,000 per year – but that amount did not include overtime pay, even though Hewitt typically worked 84 hours per week. After Helix and Hewitt parted ways, Hewitt filed a lawsuit alleging that he was owed overtime pay. Ultimately, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, sitting en banc, agreed.
The Fair Labor Standards Act generally requires employers to pay their employees “time and a half” when they work more than 40 hours per week. But the FLSA exempts from this requirement “bona fide executive, administrative, or professional” (EAP) employees. Under regulations implementing the EAP exemption, a worker qualifies as exempt only if their job duties meet certain criteria, and if they are paid above a minimum threshold – $455...
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