Working rotating hitches in the Permian Basin or Gulf Coast oilfields typically involves 12-to-14 hour shifts over 14 consecutive days (14-on / 14-off). Navigating compensation, day-rate pay structures, and federal exemptions is critical for energy workers.
Day-Rate Pay vs. FLSA Overtime Math
In 2023 the U.S. Supreme Court decided Helix Energy Solutions Group v. Hewitt: a worker paid a flat day rate with no weekly guarantee is not paid on a salary basis, so a day rate does not by itself make an oilfield worker exempt from overtime.
Unless workers receive a guaranteed weekly salary meeting federal executive, administrative, or professional thresholds, day-rate workers must receive overtime for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
Calculating Oilfield Day-Rate Overtime
To convert a day rate into FLSA overtime pay:
- Total weekly earnings = (Days worked × Day Rate).
- Regular hourly rate = Total weekly earnings ÷ Total actual hours worked.
- Overtime premium = 0.5 × Regular rate × Hours worked over 40.
Worked example: $540 day rate on a 14-on / 14-off hitch
Paid a day rate for every day worked, 7 days a week, the regular rate is the week's pay divided by the week's hours (29 CFR 778.112). Only the extra half-time premium is owed on hours over 40.
| 12-hour days | 14-hour days | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours per workweek | 84 | 98 |
| Day-rate pay per week (7 x $540) | $3,780.00 | $3,780.00 |
| Regular rate (pay / hours) | $45.00 | $38.57 |
| Overtime hours | 44 | 58 |
| Half-time premium (0.5 x rate x OT hours) | $990.00 | $1,118.57 |
| Gross per workweek | $4,770.00 | $4,898.57 |
| Per 14-day hitch (2 workweeks) | $9,540.00 | $9,797.14 |
| 13 hitches a year (365 / 28) | $124,020 | $127,364 |
Two extra hours a day (14 a week) add only $128.57 per week, because only the half-time premium is owed on top of the day rate. The example assumes the hitch starts on the first day of your employer's workweek; a hitch that starts mid-week splits into partial weeks and changes the result.
What Texas law adds
Very little. Texas has no general state overtime law for private-sector employees, and its minimum wage act defers to the FLSA for covered employers. For most oilfield workers the federal rules above are the only overtime rules, which is why the day-rate method matters so much. Offshore platforms on the Outer Continental Shelf are also governed by federal law.
Common Energy Sector Exemptions
Field technicians, rig hands and mudloggers are generally non-exempt. True engineers and wellsite supervisors with real managerial authority may qualify for an executive, administrative or professional exemption, but only if they meet both the duties test and the salary-basis and salary-level tests. Helix v. Hewitt shows why: that worker earned more than $200,000 a year but was paid a day rate with no weekly guarantee, so he was not paid on a salary basis and the highly compensated employee exemption did not apply. Separately, drivers and loaders of commercial vehicles can fall under the Motor Carrier Act exemption.