Texas Man Alleges Three Oil/Gas Exploration Cos. Owe Unpaid Overtime Wages

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A Fort Bend County, Texas man has filed separate proposed collective and class actions against three oil and gas exploration and production companies over what he claims to be unpaid overtime wages. 

The lawsuits respectively allege defendants Zavanna, LLC; Bruin E&P Operating, LLC; and CSE Icon, Inc. failed to pay the plaintiff proper time-and-a-half overtime wages for every hour worked in excess of 40 during each seven-day workweek. 

According to the suit against CSE Icon, the plaintiff began working for the company in November 2012 and was “placed with a corporate client” in November 2017 before being assigned to another corporate client in November 2019. The two other suits state that the plaintiff worked for Bruin E&P from November 2017 to November 2019 and Zavanna from November 2019 to April 2020. 

While with Bruin E&P, the plaintiff was on-call 24 hours per day, seven days per week and responsible for working with utility companies to establish transmission infrastructure to power more than 400 wells operated by the company, one case says, adding that the man also managed the CSE-provided Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system and vendors in addition to onsite automation and contractors. The plaintiff’s work with Zavanna was similar to that with Bruin E&P, another suit says. 

While working for CSE, a consulting, engineering and technology integration services firm that provides SCADA services to oil and gas clients, the plaintiff assisted with oil and gas exploration and production related to wells on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota while holding 24/7 duties similar to those he had with Bruin and Zavanna, the other case says. 

The lawsuit against Bruin E&P alleges the plaintiff worked “between 80 and 100 hours per week” from November 2017 through November 2019 without receiving overtime pay. Instead of being paid a time-and-a-half rate for every hour worked past 40 each week, the plaintiff was paid at only his regular hourly rate, the case claims. Per the suit, the plaintiff is one of “numerous other employees” who routinely worked more than 40 hours per week without premium overtime compensation. 

Similarly, the plaintiff, during his time with Zavanna from November 2019 through April 2020, worked “between 50 and 60 hours per week” without time-and-a-half overtime, the suit alleges. The plaintiff claims in his case against CSE that he worked between 80 and 100 hours per week for the company from 2017 through 2019, and from 2019 onward between 50 and 60 hours per week, without overtime pay. 

The lawsuits allege the companies have violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay the plaintiff and similarly situated employees time-and-a-half overtime wages. 

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