Labor & Employment

Rigorous and Objective Analysis

BRG experts advise organizations and individuals, including executives, general counsel, human resource departments, and outside counsel, to address complex class action and individual labor and employment disputes involving issues of employee and executive compensation, discrimination, wrongful termination, wage and hour, independent contractor versus employee misclassification, and human resource management practices. They provide rigorous, objective analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, effective information management, strategic advice, and independent expert testimony.

What We Do

Our experts use court-accepted and -tested scientific techniques for modeling and measurement. This includes design of primary research tools such as survey questionnaires, interview protocols, and observational studies. Our experts typically combine primary and secondary research in a wide range of labor and employment disputes using existing data and documents—the latter subject to systematic content analysis. They use these methods to conduct job analyses and determine time worked in cases involving allegations of employee misclassification and to conduct internal and external benchmarking studies in cases involving allegations of unreasonable executive compensation. They analyze employee-level data in pay, promotions, hiring, and termination using sophisticated statistical techniques.

BRG professionals have provided expert testimony in single-plaintiff, multi-plaintiff, and class action matters including estimated economic damages associated with these allegations:

• Age, race, gender, national origin, and religious discrimination in hiring, promotion, pay (including base and incentive compensation), performance evaluations, termination, among other employment practices
• Employee misclassification, including managerial misclassification and independent contractor versus employee status, off-the-clock work, and missed meal and rest breaks
• Excessive executive compensation, and misuse of executive and employee stock options
• Invalid employee selection, hiring, performance appraisal, demotion, and dismissal practices

BRG experts participate in all stages of litigation, performing preliminary analyses to evaluate the merits of a proposed action; assessing commonality and methods of class-wide damage calculations relevant to class certification; preparing estimated damages for mediation and settlement negotiations; providing reports and testimony regarding affirmative statistical analyses during the liability phase; and evaluating/critiquing opposing expert analyses and reports.

BRG experts also advise organizations in proactive audits and compliance studies to determine whether adverse impact may be present. Such projects include analyses of compensation/pay equity, RIF/termination, hiring/promotion, and performance ratings, and can be performed at the discretion of the organization or in connection with OFCCP compliance reviews and EEOC investigations. Our experts have provided input and recommendations based on objective data analysis at all phases of the regulatory compliance process, from the investigation phase to monitoring following a conciliation agreement.