In Adams v. All Coast, LLC, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that crewmembers working aboard liftboats servicing offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were not exempt from the overtime wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under the FLSA, "any employee employed as a seaman" is exempt from the overtime provisions, which require an employer to pay time and a half to any employee who works "longer than forty hours" in a week. Finding that the crewmembers were "seamen" in name only, the Fifth Circuit ultimately held that the employer owed these certain maritime workers unpaid overtime. This decision could impact which maritime workers are considered exempt from the FLSA, and more importantly, which workers are not. Continue reading >