Labor and Employment

Wage and Hour Litigation: FLSA and State Law Claims

Wage and Hour Litigation: FLSA and State Law Claims

Experts in NERA's Labor and Employment Practice frequently provide economic and statistical analysis for wage and hour litigations. We have substantial experience investigating the key issues at the class certification, liability, and damages phases of cases, involving allegations related to:

  • Meals and breaks
  • Minimum wage
  • Misclassification/exempt status
  • Off-the-clock work
  • Overtime pay
  • Processing errors
  • Donning and doffing

Our projects often require us to merge and analyze business records for as many as several hundred thousand employees. Our experts’ analytical and statistical expertise can handle computational requirements under the most demanding and rigorous of circumstances. We have extensive experience in a variety of types of wage and hour litigation, enabling us to apply analytical rigor in distinguishing between specious or valid claims, and to place an accurate value on valid claims. Often, our work may include assessing whether the available data would allow such a determination, as well as understanding the drivers of observed variability in patterns of alleged violations. Such variability may indicate that apparent violations are, in fact, innocuous and result from the mechanical application of a damages formula to data that may be available from business records but cannot reliably answer the questions raised in litigation. 

In cases where the data for a required analysis exist only in paper form, we have designed sampling protocols and overseen data entry processes to create electronic databases from paper records. We have critiqued surveys used to attempt to augment the available data in situations where the design of the survey instrument was flawed or there was reason to expect biased responses (such as a low-response rate or awareness by survey participants of the intended use of the survey). NERA's experts have also designed rigorous surveys tailored to the specifics of the case and successfully augmented the payroll and time clock data. NERA takes pride in its adaptability, reliability, accuracy, clarity, and timeliness.

We have successfully presented the results of such statistical assessments in testimony to both judges and juries at both the class certification and damages phases of litigation. We also provide consulting services to help firms understand their exposure and reliable defenses, as well as to assess current wage and hour practices to avoid litigation. Our clients value NERA’s reputation for independent, rigorous economic and statistical analysis, as well as our ability to tailor and present our complex work product in a clear and understandable way.

Name Title Location Phone Email
Dr. Denise Neumann Martin Senior Managing Director Miami +1 305 808 7880 denise.martin@nera.com
Dr. Elizabeth Newlon Managing Director Los Angeles +1 213 346 3019 elizabeth.newlon@nera.com
Dr. Stephanie Plancich Managing Director New York City +1 212 345 7719 stephanie.plancich@nera.com
Drew Claxton Director New York City +1 212 345 3442 drew.claxton@nera.com
Title Type Author
Snapshot of Recent Trends in Asbestos Litigation 2021 Update Mary Elizabeth C. Stern and Lucy P. Allen
Snapshot of Recent Trends in Asbestos Litigation: 2020 Update Report Mary Elizabeth C. Stern and Lucy P. Allen
Trends in Wage and Hour Settlements: 2019 Update Report Dr. Stephanie Plancich and Janeen McIntosh
Hey Google: When Did People Stop Going to Work? White Paper Dr. Faten Sabry, Linh Nguyen, and Aakash Bhalothia
Snapshot of Recent Trends in Asbestos Litigation: 2019 Update Report Mary Elizabeth C. Stern and Lucy P. Allen
Snapshot of Recent Trends in Asbestos Litigation: 2017 Update Report Mary Elizabeth C. Stern and Lucy P. Allen
Five Things You Should Know about the EEOC’s Proposed Changes to the Employer Informa... Published Article Dr. Elizabeth Newlon
Trends in Wage and Hour Settlements: 2015 Update Report Dr. Stephanie Plancich, Neil Fanaroff, and Janeen McIntosh
Trends in Wage and Hour Settlements: 2013 Update Working Paper Dr. Denise Martin, Dr. Stephanie Plancich, and Janeen McIntosh
Using Statistical Analysis For Employee Misclassification Published Article By Mary Elizabeth C. Stern, et al.