According to the consulting firm NERA Economic Consulting, wage and hour settlements for U.S. companies totaled $467 million in 2012, consistent with past years. Companies, on average, paid $4.8 million in order to resolve a case in 2012, which is slightly higher than the $4.6 million companies paid in 2011. Furthermore, the median settlement value for wage and hour cases in 2012 was $1.7 million. Overtime claims were the most prevalent in 2012. Since 2007, overtime, misclassification, and donning and doffing claims have remained constant.
The following is a breakdown of wage and hour allegations brought in 2012, from NERA Economic Consulting’s survey: overtime, 40 percent; missed meals and breaks, 19 percent; misclassification, 18 percent; off-the-clock, 9 percent; minimum wage, 7 percent; donning and doffing, 4 percent; and tip pooling, 3 percent. (See “Trends in Wage and Hour Settlements: 2012 Update,” NERA Economic Consulting, March 12, 2013, available at www.nera.com/nera-files/PUB_Wage_and_Hour_Settlements_0313.pdf).