Molock et al. v. Whole Foods Markets, Inc.

Whole Foods Markets, Inc. (Whole Foods) retained BRG in a class certification action brought by current and former employees of Whole Foods grocery stores (plaintiffs). The plaintiffs alleged that Whole Foods’ “Gainsharing” bonus program, designed to incentivize individual store departments to operate under budget by sharing labor cost savings with employees, operated in a fraudulent manner and that they were unlawfully denied Gainsharing payments as a result.

Dr. James Langenfeld was engaged to analyze whether timekeeping data and other materials in the record provided common evidence of plaintiffs’ allegations regarding the management of labor costs. Dr. Langenfeld used statistical and econometric analyses to demonstrate that the record evidence was inconsistent with systematic effects on the proposed class by an alleged companywide policy of improper labor shifting.

On March 10, 2025, a district judge of the US District Court for the District of Columbia denied the motion for class certification, citing Dr. Langenfeld’s “strong evidence” refuting key claims of the plaintiffs.

The case is moving forward into the remedy phase.

BRG’s team also included Dr. Hassan Faghani and Chris Ring.