On February 17, 2010, Outten & Golden LLP, along with co-counsel Burr & Smith LLP and Barrios, Kingsdorf, & Casteix LLP, filed a class action lawsuit against British Petroleum (“BP”) and BP sub-contractor The Response Group LLC. The plaintiffs are current and former oil spill response workers who were assigned to do cleanup work along the Gulf Coast following the April 20, 2010 oil spill. The lawsuit alleges that BP and The Response Group violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by misclassifying the plaintiffs and other workers as independent contractors, denying them overtime compensation, requiring them to sign unlawful employment contracts, and denying them other employment benefits. The lawsuit further alleges that the defendants took unlawful retaliatory actions against two plaintiffs after they raised concerns over their pay and retained counsel to explore their claims.
The plaintiffs seek back pay, front pay, liquidated damages, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees. Individuals who were hired by The Response Group to work for BP on the oil spill response may be eligible to be part of the lawsuit.
Outten & Golden LLP, along with attorneys from Burr & Smith LLP and Barrios, Kingsdorf, & Casteix LLP, are currently investigating reports of similar practices by employers hired by BP to retain oil spill response workers.
(*Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.)
