Workforce Reviews: Statistical Audits and Reduction-in-Force Analyses At A Glance

Capabilities and Services

A company’s best armor against potentially damaging litigation or government audits is a clear statistical understanding of its workforce. Such reviews can be particularly important when a company is considering a reduction in force (RIF).

With statistical and economic experts who are fluent in the complex and ever-changing language of employment law, NERA offers workforce reviews that provide a detailed analysis of a firm’s workforce composition. Drawing on the company’s HR information, we use rigorous statistical tools and accepted techniques to analyze and compare key metrics (such as salaries, promotions, or layoffs) across company operations, age categories, job positions, salary ranges, and more.

In litigation, NERA experts are familiar with the types of analyses typically introduced by plaintiff experts and frequently provide expert testimony demonstrating where such analyses are unfounded or unreliable. In addition, NERA’s workforce studies are often used by companies to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations, as well as to determine if proposed actions will meet such guidelines. NERA’s analyses have been used in the following areas:

Liability and class certification assessments
RIF analyses
Workforce and contracting affirmative action studies
Economic loss and damages calculations
Union-related analyses

In this overview, we address five questions typically posed by companies considering workforce reviews.