Appeals court rules for oil rig workers in safety gear case
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A jury should decide whether oil rig workers are entitled to be paid for the time they spend changing into and out of protective gear, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, in overturning a lower court.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a task is compensable work if it is “both integral and indispensable” to a particular activity, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said Wednesday, in Rodney Tyger et al. v. Precision Drilling Corp., et al.
Calgary, Alberta-based Precision Drilling requires oil and gas rig hands to wear protective gear, including flame-retardant coveralls, steel-toed boots, hard hats, safety glasses, gloves and earplugs, the ruling said.
The rig hands sued Precision in U.S. District Court in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, arguing they should be paid for the time they spend changing into and out of this protective gear under the FLSA.
The district court ruled in the drilling company’s favor, and was overturned by a three-judge appeals court panel.
“The statutory text suggests that at least some gear changing is integral and indispensable” and therefore covered under the FLSA, but “which gear counts is murkier,” the ruling said.
It concludes that before deciding this, it should be determined: how many rig hands change at work and why; is changing required by law or merely a convenience for the workers; is it industry custom for rig hands to change onsite; and does it take more than a “de minimis” amount of time to change.
“The record leaves these questions open,” and must be decided by a jury, it said, in vacating the lower court and remanding the case for further proceedings.
Attorneys in the case had no comment or did not respond to a request for comment.
The 3rd Circuit held in an earlier ruling in the case that the workers can proceed with their lawsuit despite the dismissal of their expert’s testimony.
