Denial of Class Certification to a Class of Independent Contractors in Wage & Hour Class Action

Winston defended a worldwide provider of drilling fluid systems in a wage and hour collective action filed in the Southern District of Texas against allegations that it misclassified its fluid service technicians as independent contractors rather than employees, and therefore the putative class was entitled to overtime under the FLSA. Distinguishing a case holding the contrary result, the court denied conditional certification to the class of independent contractors.