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Get Paid for Your Mandatory Meetings

Mandatory Meetings

Jobs that are dangerous in nature, such as diving, offshore, ring, and heavy machinery operations, require regular instructions, training, and walk-through steps so that they can carry out their activities effectively. This is vital to ensuring that the work is done right and preventing accidents, some of which can be fatal. These mandatory meetings are as frequent as there is a need. Unfortunately, most companies do not count the time spent in meetings as part of the work period. Therefore, it is excluded from the remuneration. Given that most workers have regular meetings, a substantial amount of time is lost in these meetings.

What Does the Law Say About Getting Paid for Mandatory Meetings?

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires all employees to be paid for tasks they carry out that are necessary to their role. Such activities include safety meetings and training. Many of the workers in the gas and oil industries require these meetings and training so that they are informed about recent incidents, new work protocols, new tasks and projects, and any other information relevant to their duties. Offshore diving is one of the roles that require workers to report for mandatory pre-shift meetings.

According to the law, every time a worker is required to report for a meeting or other task related to their job, they must be compensated. Therefore, offshore divers and other related positions must be paid the normal rate for the time they spend in the training sessions and mandatory meetings. These hours must be included in the weekly tally of the hours worked. Employers cannot discount the hours when making overtime payments and other wage arrangements.

Here are other workers whose positions require them to be present for pre-shift meetings, but many do not get paid for the time spent in them.

  • Crane Operators
  • Heavy equipment operators
  • Divers
  • Riggers
  • Saturation technicians
  • ROV Technicians
  • Welders
  • Tenders

The time spent training workers and updating them on current projects, tasks, working instructions, and related information is as important as the actual work they do afterward. This is not time wasted, as the information shared is vital to ensuring that the working conditions meet the set safety standard. Therefore, this time should be compensated just like the time they will spend in their work areas.

Seek Legal Redress for Unpaid Wages

If your employer does not calculate the time spent in training and meetings, you have the right to seek unpaid wages in court. You should calculate all the time spent in meetings and other job-related activities and have the court instruct the employer to pay it. Otherwise, you risk losing a significant amount of money, especially if you have regular meetings.

Here are some of the biggest companies that employ offshore divers.

  • Alliance Triton
  • Blackwater Diving
  • Bisso Marine
  • Cal Dive International
  • Divex Marine
  • Dive Con
  • Epic Divers & Marine
  • Legacy
  • Gulmar Offshore
  • Manson Gulf
  • Ranger
  • Midco Diving & Marine
  • Subsea Global Solutions
  • Logan Diving & Salvage
  • Phoenix International

Any of these organizations may deny workers their rightful pay, who can seek compensation from the court.

Let Our Wage Claim Lawyers Recover Denied Wages for Offshore Divers

The federal law protects your right to be paid for time spent in training and pre-shift mandatory meetings. If you have been denied payment for time spent on such activities, you should contact a lawyer right away. Our lawyers at Josephson Dunlap LLP have handled hundreds of similar cases in the past and helped offshore divers get compensation for wages that they were wrongfully denied. Contact us today so that we can review your situation and determine the amount of rightful payment that has been rejected in order to take action.

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