Welding Inspector Worked as Contractor, Can’t Revive Wage Suit

A welding inspector alleging Killick Group LLC, a quality control support company for the energy sector, failed to pay wages and overtime can’t reinstate his suit because he worked as an independent contractor and can’t show the employer-employee relationship necessary for a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Based on a five-factor test, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday said Guillermo Gray, a welding and coding inspector, worked with Killick as an independent contractor.

The lower court said Gray was judicially estopped from claiming an employer-employee relationship after he had admitted on a license ...