Edgeworth Provides Analyses of Rounding Policies in California Court

An Edgeworth Economics team, led by Edgeworth Partner Dr. Deborah K. Foster as the testifying economist, was retained by two California hospitals—both part of the AHMC Hospital System—accused of violating California labor law by using a payroll system that automatically rounded employees’ hours up or down to the nearest quarter-hour.

Dr. Foster presented analyses of time records for the San Gabriel and Anaheim hospitals and examined the data over a four-year period. The Edgeworth analysis showed—among other things—that at both hospitals, the overall number of minutes added to employee time by the rounding policy exceeded the number of minutes subtracted. The court ultimately found that “the undisputed facts established that petitioners’ system was in compliance with California law." The decision relied upon the evidence presented by Dr. Foster and found that “her analysis established that overall, at both hospitals, the rounding policy benefitted employees and caused [the hospitals] to overcompensate them.”