Profile

Dr. Nathan D. Woods is an expert with more than 20 years of experience analyzing topics relating to class certification, labor and employment, sampling, extrapolation, and damages. He applies his expertise in the construction and statistical analysis of large, complex data sets to assist clients in analyzing issues related to allegations of adverse impact against gender, race/ethnic, and age protected groups, and all manner of wage and hour topics under federal and state laws. He also provides guidance on sample design in a variety of contexts, including in health care and business disputes.

As an expert witness, Dr. Woods analyzes data and testifies on equal employment opportunity topics including pay equity and adverse impact; class action topics involving commonality and typicality; wage and hour allegations including misclassification, work “off-the-clock,” non-payment of overtime, and meal break violations; damages; and other topics including manageability (PAGA), representative sampling, and extrapolation. Dr. Woods has testified in bench and jury trials, in state and federal courts, and in administrative proceedings.

Outside of litigation, Dr. Woods regularly consults with Fortune 500 clients on a variety of labor and employment and other analytical topics. Included among these are assistance with the implementation and evaluation of large-scale diversity initiatives; monitoring of pay equity, performance, hiring, and other employment decisions for possible adverse impact; auditing wage and hour compliance; and economic analyses of wages and benefits issues. Dr. Woods often communicates complicated analysis results to affected stakeholder groups, including union membership, management, and legal counsel.

His peer-reviewed academic research focuses on using statistical analysis to answer questions related to race and ethnicity, representation, public opinion, and participation. He has published in the American Political Science Review, the American Review of Politics, Bender’s California Labor and Employment Bulletin, the Federal Employment Law Insider, the Journal of Health Care Compliance, the Journal of Politics, the Journal of Urban Affairs, Law360, the National Civic Review, PS, Political Research Quarterly, Social Sciences Quarterly, the Urban Affairs Review, and he has chapters in three edited book volumes. He frequently writes and speaks on economic and statistical approaches to analysis of pay equity, class certification, discrimination, and wage and hour questions. Dr. Woods has taught several courses to undergraduate and graduate students, including an advanced quantitative analysis graduate seminar at the University of Southern California.

Dr. Woods received his PhD and MA degrees in Political Science from the School of Politics and Economics at the Claremont Graduate University and his BA in Political Science from the University of California, Davis.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

  • American Bar Association
    • Labor and Employment Section
  • American Conference Institute, Speaker

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

  • Vice President, Welch Consulting
  • Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Southern California
  • Research Scholar, Loyola Marymount University’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles


Case Highlights

Case Highlights

Insights & News

Publications

  • Published Article, Law360 | 05.01.2020

    Headlines announcing impending layoffs and furloughs abound as the economy declines due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus and a downturn in the oil and gas sector. Depending on the demographics of their employees, some firms may be particularly susceptible to risk of adverse impact in layoff and furlough decisions.

  • Law360 | 10.09.2015

    In this Law360 article, Dr. Stephen Bronars and Dr. Nathan Woods discuss the possibly profound consequences of using external benchmarks when conducting analyses of age discrimination allegations.

  • Law360 | 09.25.2015

    Mr. Michael Kheyfets, Dr. Deborah Foster and Dr. Nathan Woods discuss the 10 questions you should ask your experts who are working with your sensitive data. 

  • Law360 | 08.25.2015

    Drs. Bronars, Foster, and Woods discuss the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed salary test for the white collar exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

  • Law360 | 08.14.2015

    Drs. Deborah K. Foster, Stephen G. Bronars, and Nathan D. Woods published the article “Approaches to Hourly Rates Under DOL White Collar Rules” in Law360.

  • Law360 | 05.29.2015

    This article by Dr. Nathan Woods is the third article in a three part series discussing the statistical analysis of class certification topics in wage-and-hour class and collective actions.

  • Law360 | 05.28.2015

    This article by Dr. Nathan Woods is the second article in a three part series discussing the statistical analysis of class certification topics in wage-and-hour class and collective actions.

  • Law360 | 05.27.2015

    This article by Dr. Nathan Woods is the first article in a three part series discussing the statistical analysis of class certification topics in wage-and-hour class and collective actions. 

Edgeworth Insights

Speaking Engagements

News

Of Significance Podcast

  • 10.01.2024

    It's one of the most fundamental characteristics of statistics and Steve, Nathan, and Brent work through it with a hint of grace, a touch of dignity, and bit of fun: it's sampling!

  • 09.17.2024

    Are the kids alright? Are they working hard enough? Steve, Nathan, and Brent break down the drama around summer employment among the youths and talk about some of the summer jobs they used to have.

  • 09.03.2024

    In a podcast first, Nathan, Steve, and Brent interview false advertising expert, Sush Jain, about how a false advertising claim works, how damages are potentially assessed, and why the market for goods can be so confusing.

  • 08.20.2024

    Brent, Steve, and Nathan take a look at the age old adage "Correlation does not imply causation" and how people seem to still miss how to think about what factors are related. They become real control freaks when it comes to what goes into their tests.

  • 08.06.2024

    Brent and Nathan plumb the depths of Steve’s mind to get to the bottom of the question on everybody’s mind: is there anything that Steve Bronars doesn’t know about the unemployment rate? Listen to find out! Spoiler: the answer is “probably."

  • 07.23.2024

    Nathan, Brent, and Steve finally take on academic elites and their out of control theories about human capital, how it's measured, and whether it's important. Just kidding, this is a classic, balanced episode about human capital in theory and practice that's completely hinged. This episode doesn't just have economics though: it's also got science and art (kind of)!

  • 07.10.2024

    Problem: You've got to make sure you hire a proportionate distribution from the people applying to your company. Solution: Make a benchmark. Problem: You don't know what the right benchmark is. Solution: Listen to Steve, Nathan, and Brent talk about better ways to think about the characteristics one should be looking for in a benchmark. Problem: Oh wait, there are no other problems...

  • 07.09.2024

    In the case of Muldrow v. St Louis, the Supreme Court changed the standard required to show discrimination by employers. Brent, Nathan, and Steve chat about how this could change the way we investigate these kinds of cases and Brent has ideas about what companies could be keeping better track of when it comes to employee activity.

  • 07.09.2024

    Let's get meta right off the bat as Nathan, Brent, and Steve think about how we think about what's important. In this kickoff episode, they dive deep into the different ways things matter or mislead and Steve reminisces about a poll that came out when he was a wee lad.

  • 06.27.2024

    Edgeworth Economics' new podcast featuring experts Dr. Steve Bronars, Dr. Nathan Woods, and Brent Butgereit premieres soon. Check out our trailer here!

Industries

Industries

  • Energy
  • Food-products
  • Grocery
  • Health Care
  • Home Improvement
  • Manufacturing
  • Restaurant
  • Retail
  • Shipping
  • Telecommunications

Pay Equity

Pay Equity

Edgeworth experts have deep experience working with companies committed to enhancing pay equity, using a data driven approach and tailored to each organization’s unique employment context and needs.

We don’t do dashboards or one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, we work closely with organizations seeking to understand, based on well-developed data and well-crafted econometric models specific to each organization, the causes of any potential disparities. When we identify unexplainable pay disparities, we work closely with organizations to remediate those disparities in a thoughtful and sustainable manner.

Education

Dr. Woods received his PhD and his MA in political science from Claremont Graduate University and his BA in political science from the University of California, Davis.

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