Contract analysis

I. QUALIFICATIONS AND IDENTITY

1. My name is Dr. Rajesh Makhija. I am a Principal and Senior Consultant at Workforce Dynamics Consulting LLC, located at 444 Castro Street, Suite 800, Mountain View, California 94041. I am over the age of eighteen and am competent to testify to the matters set forth herein. Unless otherwise stated, I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth in this declaration and, if called as a witness, could and would compe

II. RETENTION AND SCOPE OF ENGAGEMENT

2. I was retained by Calderwood & Harkness LLP, counsel for Defendant Aurelius Media Americas Inc. ("AMA" or "Defendant"), pursuant to an engagement letter dated March 1, 2023. The purpose of my retention was to analyze and opine on the following topics in connection with Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification: (a) The degree of variability in working conditions, scheduling practices, meal and rest break implemen

3. In forming my opinions, I reviewed and analyzed a comprehensive set of documents, data, and other materials, including but not limited to the following: (a) AMA organizational charts and staffing records for all seven California production facilities (Facilities 1 through 7), covering the class period of November 1, 2018 through the present; (b) NovaPay Solutions TimeTrack Pro timekeeping data for the class period

IV. OVERVIEW OF AMA'S CALIFORNIA OPERATIONS

4. To provide context for my findings, I set forth below an overview of AMA's organizational structure and California operations as they existed during the class period. AMA is a wholly owned United States subsidiary of Aurelius Global Media Group PLC, a publicly traded company organized under the laws of England and Wales. AMA operates in the media, entertainment, and e-commerce sectors. As of the end of the class p

5. My analysis employed a multi-method approach, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques, consistent with the standards of the field of industrial/organizational psychology. The specific methods I employed are as follows: (a) Quantitative Analysis of TimeTrack Pro Data. I conducted a statistical examination of the NovaPay Solutions TimeTrack Pro timekeeping data for the full class period, e

VI. FINDINGS A. Finding 1: Significant Variability in Shift Lengths Across Show Units

6. My analysis of the NovaPay Solutions TimeTrack Pro data reveals substantial and statistically significant differences in average shift lengths across AMA's fourteen show units during the class period. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) comparing mean shift lengths across the fourteen show units yielded an F-statistic of 47.3 with a p-value of less than 0.001, indicating that the observed differences are highly

7. Overtime frequency—defined as the percentage of shifts in which the employee's recorded hours exceeded eight hours in a single workday—also varied significantly across AMA's show units during the class period. A chi-square test comparing overtime frequency across show-unit types yielded a chi-square statistic of 312.7 with a p-value of less than 0.001, confirming that the observed differences are statistically sig

8. I analyzed the timing of first meal periods across AMA's show units by examining the interval between each employee's shift start time and the recorded time of the first meal period, as reflected by either the auto-deduction timing in the TimeTrack Pro system or, where available, the employee's actual clock-out punch for meal. This analysis revealed significant variability in both the timing and consistency of mea

9. The NovaPay Solutions TimeTrack Pro system includes a Missed Meal Attestation feature that, when activated, prompts employees to indicate at the time of clock-out whether they received a compliant meal period during their shift. My analysis of the system activation logs and attestation records revealed that this feature was activated at only four of AMA's seven California facilities—specifically, Facility 1 (West

10. Each of AMA's fourteen show units operated under the direction of a different Unit Production Manager or Line Producer. My interviews with AMA operational personnel and my review of the deposition testimony in this matter revealed that these UPMs exercised significant and materially varying degrees of discretion regarding the scheduling and implementation of meal and rest breaks during production days. Specifical

11. I analyzed the employment context and deposition testimony of each of the three named Plaintiffs to assess whether their experiences are typical of the approximately 1,850 members of the putative class. My analysis demonstrates that each named Plaintiff worked in a different division, at a different facility, under a different supervisor, with materially different job responsibilities and materially different bre

12. Based on the totality of my analysis, it is my opinion that the question of whether AMA "provided" compliant meal and rest periods to each putative class member—within the meaning of Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (2012) 53 Cal.4th 1004—is predominantly an individualized inquiry that depends on a constellation of factors specific to each employee's circumstances. These factors include, but are not lim

VII. RESPONSE TO DR. RENNICK'S METHODOLOGY

13. Dr. Howard Rennick of Pinnacle Economic Consulting Group LLC, retained by Plaintiffs, submitted an expert report dated April 28, 2023 in which he calculated aggregate damages of $38.6 million for the putative class. Dr. Rennick's damages model is predicated on the assumption that every auto-deducted meal period recorded in the NovaPay Solutions TimeTrack Pro system during the class period constitutes a "missed" m

14. Based on my analysis, and for the reasons set forth in this declaration and in my full expert report (Exhibit 1), I hold the following opinions to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty: Opinion 1: Working conditions, scheduling practices, and meal period implementation vary significantly—and to a statistically significant degree—across AMA's fourteen show units and seven California production facilities. Th

15. The opinions expressed in this declaration are based on my education, training, and over twenty years of professional experience in industrial/organizational psychology and workforce analytics. They are further based on my comprehensive review and analysis of the materials identified in Paragraph 3 above, including the approximately 12 million timekeeping records, the deposition transcripts, the production docume

X. DECLARATION UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY

16. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed this 14th day of June, 2023, in Mountain View, California. ________________________________________ Dr. Rajesh Makhija, Ph.D. Principal and Senior Consultant Workforce Dynamics Consulting LLC 444 Castro Street, Suite 800 Mountain View, California 94041 EXHIBIT LIST The following exhibits a