Oil & Gas Field Workers Represented by Nichols Kaster, PLLP File Overtime Lawsuit Against BHP Billiton Petroleum (Americas), Inc.

    MINNEAPOLIS, MN, April 28, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On April 24, 2015, four former BHP Billiton Petroleum (Americas) ("Defendant"), Inc. workers filed a lawsuit in the Western District Court of Texas seeking overtime pay. The workers were employed as HSE Field Specialists either directly or through a staffing agency and were paid on a "day rate" basis.  The complaint alleges that Defendant required them to work over 40 hours per week, but did not pay them an overtime premium for any of their overtime hours, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  The case was filed on behalf all persons (regardless of job title) who performed worked for Defendant and were paid a "day rate" at any time during the past three years. 

BHP Billiton Petroleum (Americas), Inc.  is a producer of major commodities including iron ore, coal, copper, aluminum, with a substantial interest in oil and gas.  It has exploration, development, production, and marketing activities in more than a dozen countries with significant positions in the deep water Gulf of Mexico, onshore U.S., and Australia. Defendant employs more than 120,000 workers at 130 locations worldwide.

Plaintiffs' attorney Michele Fisher stated, "These individuals work long hours, often 12-13 hours or more each day for 7-10 days straight.  The law requires that they receive an additional overtime premium when they work more than forty hours in a workweek.  When an employer denies them this pay, they may be awarded double damages as well."

Plaintiffs are represented by Michele R. Fisher, Paul J. Lukas, and Alex M. Baggio of Nichols Kaster, PLLP, which has offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California. 

The case is entitled, Tamez et al v. BHP Billiton Petroleum (Americas), Inc., No.: 5:15-cv-00330  (Western District of Texas).

Additional information about how to make a claim in the case may be found at www.nka.com or by calling Nichols Kaster, PLLP toll free at (877) 448-0492.

Nichols Kaster is a nationally recognized plaintiffs firm that focuses on representing employees and consumers whose rights have been violated. The firm was selected as a member of the National Law Journal's Litigation Boutiques Hot List, ranked as a Best Law Firm by U.S. News & World Report, selected as a top plaintiffs' employment law firm by Law360 and named one the top 50 Elite Trial Lawyers by The National Law Journal and Law.com.

The firm is led by its partners, who are regularly selected by their peers as Super Lawyers, and sit on the boards of numerous professional organizations, including the National Association of Employment Lawyers, the ABA Fair Labor Standards Legislation Committee and the Council for the Minnesota State Bar Association's Consumer Litigation Section.

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