Deborah K. Foster is an Economist in the Los Angeles office of Welch Consulting. Since joining Welch Consulting, Dr. Foster has assisted with a wide range of FLSA and state-specific wage and hour matters including misclassification, off-the-clock work, time shaving, meal/rest break violations, alternative work arrangements, and benefit pay disputes. As part of these matters, she has provided declarations and extensive mediation and trial support. Dr. Foster has also assisted with race, gender, and age discrimination claims.

Dr. Foster received her Ph.D. in economics from Michigan State University. Prior to joining Welch Consulting, she worked as a Consultant with Navigant Consulting, Inc. where she assisted clients in matters regarding breach of contract, bankruptcy, fraud, lost profits, and patent infringement. She taught principles and intermediate microeconomics at Michigan State University and served as a research and teaching assistant. Dr. Foster is a member of the American Economic Association and the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management.

SELECTED CASEWORK

Consultant, Wage & Hours: Nationwide and California class action suit charging that employees at a national retail chain were misclassified and denied proper payment of benefits. Utilized time clock, payroll, and benefit adjustment records to estimate overtime, meal/rest break, and vacation day forfeiture damages for FLSA class and state sub-class. Also performed variation studies and provided mediation support.

Consultant, Wage & Hours: California class of reclassified employees at a large energy company claimed they did not receive sufficient back-pay to cover all overtime owed. Employed multiple data sources including time records, employee surveys, and supervisor surveys to generate estimates of pre-reclassification overtime work and calculate total potential damages. Provided mediation support and assisted with trial preparation.

Consultant, Wage & Hours: California class action allegations of unpaid work time by call center employees at a large insurance firm. Combined data from phone, schedule, computer, and payroll records to estimate total unpaid minutes and extra paid minutes at the start and end of shifts. Also performed investigations of alternative work arrangements and the overtime payment process.

Consultant, Employment Discrimination: Class action claims of racial and age discrimination in the promotion process in a California county department. Analyzed promotion patterns by race and age and performed critique of plaintiffs’ report.

Consultant, Wage & Hours: Multi-state class action allegations of unpaid work time at global call centers located throughout the U.S. Utilized data from multiple phone, exception, and payroll systems to generate estimates of potential unpaid minutes and extrapolated to total damages incorporating FLSA and multiple state-specific requirements and penalties. Assisted with Department of Labor investigation, mediation with plaintiffs, and settlement administration.

Consultant, Wage & Hours: California class action claims of malicious edits to time records to remove meal violations at a large hotel chain. Analyzed time records and edits to re-create raw time records, calculate total damages, investigate individual named plaintiffs, study variation by property and over time, and critique plaintiffs’ report. Provided mediation support.

Consultant, Employment Discrimination: Class action claims of racial discrimination in the hiring process in a California county department. Performed statistical analyses of white and minority new hires.

Consultant, Wage & Hours: Several nationwide and California class action suits involving claims of misclassified employees at a major telecommunications company. Analyzed computer, badge swipe, and time keeping systems for measures of total daily work time, estimated average weekly overtime, generated exposure analyses for FLSA and state-specific damages, and critiqued plaintiffs’ reports. Provided declaration, mediation support, and assistance with settlement administration.

Consultant, Wage & Hours: Class action claims of unpaid pre-shift time at a major telecommunications company in California. Analyzed computer and time keeping data to determine amount of pre-shift time and computed total exposure. Provided mediation support and assisted with settlement administration.

Consultant, Employment Discrimination: Class action allegations of gender discrimination in the promotion process at a California county department. Analyzed exam results by gender for evidence of significantly different pass rates for women.

Consultant, Wage & Hours: Several class action suits involving claims of meal and rest break violations at multiple California properties of a large hotel chain. Generated damage estimates under alternative scenarios, investigated named plaintiffs, and checked internal penalty payment process. Provided mediation support and settlement administration assistance.

Consultant, Wage & Hours: Virginia class action allegations of unpaid pre- and post-shift time at a janitorial company. Estimated economic damages based on company-provided schedule, time keeping, and payroll records.