Halliburton Co. was reported have given its workers a settlement amounting to $18.3 million after it improperly exempted them from overtime pay.
According to a report by Triblive, the Department of Labor said that Halliburton Co. has improperly identified more than 1000 of their workers in 28 job categories as exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. However, the company has said that it's now giving the supposed overtime pay, cooperating fully with the Department of Labor.
Those workers ranged from field service representatives, pipe recovery specialists, drilling tech advisers, perforating specialists and reliability tech specialist, working more than 40 hours in a week.
It's been reported that the Halliburton "Overtime Pay" case is one of the largest settlement cases handled by the Labor Department in recent years.
As reported by the Houston Chronicle, the federal inquiry on the company began in Albuquerque two years ago in which the investigation regarding pay practices has resulted into the Halliburton settling $18.3 million in back wages.
According to U.S Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez, "The Department of Labor takes very seriously its responsibility to ensure workers receive the wages they have earned. This settlement will put millions of dollars where they belong — in the pockets of hardworking people and their families," the site Oil and Gasoline has learned.
Secretary Perez further added that, "Employers who don't pay their employees the wages they have earned don't just hurt their workers, they undercut employers who play by the rules. That's why we work every day to help level the playing field."
It's not been a good year for Halliburton as the company was also hit by the slumping crude oil price. As for their shares, it was also reported to have slightly gone down at $37.20 in the afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
