Labor/Employment
Apr. 15, 2026
Data is the black box of wage and hour mediation
In wage and hour and PAGA mediations, employer data acts like a plane's black box--both sides analyze it to reconstruct work realities, test assumptions and align narratives, turning potential courtroom crashes into controlled settlements.
Leonid M. Zilberman
Partner
Wilson Turner Kosmo LLP
Phone: (619) 236-9600
Email: lzilberman@wilsonturnerkosmo.com
Lonny practices employment law, diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as mediation and alternative dispute resolution and provides anti-harassment and other employment-related training to California Employers.
When a commercial airplane accident occurs, investigators first examine the plane's black box to determine the cause, understand what happened and prevent future accidents. In California wage‑and‑hour class and PAGA cases, data serves the same role as a black box.
Everyone wants to open a black box after a lawsuit is filed to see how the employer documented wages. Defense practitioners often point to the black box to show that the flight was smooth and ...
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