RDT Services Inc. in Tulsa has paid $68,556 in overtime back wages to 20 current and former field pumpers after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime and record-keeping provisions.

"All employees deserve full and fair compensation for all hours worked," said Cynthia Watson, regional administrator of the Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest. "Our investigators found that employees worked as many as 48 hours in a week without overtime compensation. This is unacceptable."

An investigation by the division's Oklahoma City District Office found that field pumpers were paid "straight time" rather than time and one-half their regular rates of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a week, and that the company failed to maintain the required records. The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay, for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Employers are also required to maintain accurate time and payroll records.

RDT Services is primarily engaged in hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," a process that brings natural gas to the surface by injecting water and chemicals into the ground. RDT Services has agreed to fully comply with the FLSA in the future and has paid the back wages owed in full.