CRA’s Labor & Employment experts were retained by a major technology company facing class allegations of gender-based disparities in compensation and promotion practices.
The engagement involved integrating and analyzing complex California-wide data from multiple HRIS, payroll, and performance management systems over a seven-year period.
CRA processed hundreds of files containing job histories, compensation records, bonus information, performance evaluations, educational backgrounds, managerial responsibilities, and prior employment data. To address evolving pay practices and data constraints, the team constructed a comprehensive database that validated and aligned information across sources and reconstructed historical compensation structures, including salaries, bonuses, commissions, and RSUs.
To ensure consistency, CRA developed a sophisticated employee identifier crosswalk that reconciled individuals across systems with inconsistent IDs and consolidated employment histories, including rehired employees.
Using these datasets, CRA developed models of base pay, total compensation, and realized earnings to assess potential exposure across the relevant period. The analyses incorporated prorated and extrapolated damages, as well as interest and liquidated damages. CRA also evaluated advancement outcomes through a promotion analysis and created data visualizations highlighting trends across key factors such as education, tenure, prior experience, promotion rates, and performance ratings.
In parallel, CRA worked closely with counsel to produce redacted electronic and PDF payslip data, developing a detailed data-mapping framework to ensure completeness, consistency, and traceability throughout the production process.
