This article is the hot topic for July. When the Supreme Court issues an opinion, we must pay attention to it—especially when it deals with our employees’ rights. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The law has added more protections […]
Bucking the 80-20
Some business coaches cite the 80-20 rule—which says 80 percent of a company’s productivity comes from 20 percent of its product lines—to recommend identifying and eliminating the less productive offerings in order to increase profits. That works great in a static business sector, where your main product or service line can be predicted. But in […]
Overtime and Bonus Pay for Nonexempt Employees
Several years ago, I wrote on this topic of overtime and bonus pay for nonexempt employees, and I continue to have clients ask about these matters. This is super easy to understand if employers will take the time to review the Department of Labor’s (DOL) webpage, review the easy-to-read Fact Sheets, listen to your Human […]
Top Flight Service
How much does Permian Basin oilfield activity affect Basin aviation activity? It’s pretty much a direct, non-stop connection. According to Justine Ruff, director of airports at the Midland International Air and Space Port, “enplanements” are up exponentially right now. An enplanement, per the definition she gave, is “a passenger getting on an airplane and flying […]
Rising to the Occasion
As long as there are oil wells—greenfield and brownfield—there will be a need for downhole tools. That much is unchanging. What is up for grabs is the kind, the number, and the speed at which they’re needed. For Ruger Oil Tools, the times they are a’changin’. For Mesquite Oil Tools, the more things change, the […]
Interviewing Candidates
How do you pick candidates to interview, and what is the correct interviewing process? This is a highly complex process, and what follows are best practices. Do what you want until you must defend yourself. Here are my recommendations. First, post your job on your Human Resources Information System (HRIS) platform, such as Workday, Paycom, […]
Too Much, Too Fast?
“Go to the ant,” suggested King Solomon, because even without a company man, the ant “stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” Retired veteran oilman Mike Shellman admits that he is a contrarian when it comes to how fast and hard to push production from new wells. And he avoids shale […]
Shifting Sand
As prevalent as a PropX box. While that line, above, is not a commonplace figure of speech in the Basin, it might as well be. The PropX box is everywhere. That’s because sand is everywhere—or at least it is going everywhere. And usually on the road that you are driving on. When God put the […]
Where the Water Goes
An oil well produces three things: oil, natural gas and (mostly) water. All three of those things have to have somewhere to go in order for the well to operate, and right now only two of them are profitable. The last is working its way up from being a nuisance to being a useful byproduct, […]
Employee or Independent Contractor?
This subject may have become the latest hot topic in the oil industry. However, the January 10, 2024, rule from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) was no surprise to me. If you followed case law, you had to know it was coming. Effective March 11, 2024—yes, this month—the previous, January 7, 2021, final rule […]
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