U.S. Department of Labor Recovers $139,165 in Back Wages For Texas Rio Grande Valley Oil Field Diesel Services Workers

MISSION, TX – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Mobile Diesel Services LLC – based in Mission, Texas – has paid $139,165 to 47 employees to resolve violations of the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found that the employer, which provides diesel mechanic service to oil fields in the area, violated FLSA overtime requirements when it paid straight time to hourly employees, rather than overtime, when they worked over 40 hours in a workweek. The law requires employers to pay overtime at time-and-one-half workers’ regular rates of pay for those hours. Mobile Diesel also violated FLSA recordkeeping requirements.

 “Oil field employees work hard for their money and must be paid all the wages they legally earn,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nathan Barrow, in McAllen, Texas. “We encourage employers to contact us with any federal labor law questions and to take advantage of all resources the department makes available to them. Violations like those in this case can be avoided, so that workers receive what they have earned, and that employers compete on a level playing field.”   

The department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

Employers that discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/agencies/whd including a search tool for workers who may be owed back wages collected by the division.

The mission of WHD is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.