$162M Settlement Approved for Family Caregivers

BROOKLYN, New York—A massive settlement will be awarded to more than 200,000 family caregivers throughout the state of New York. A federal judge granted preliminary approval of a proposed $162 million wage-and-hour class action lawsuit involving caregivers, aka personal assistants, who were paid through Public Partnerships LLC (PPL), the statewide fiscal intermediary for New York’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP).

The family caregivers, who provided services in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County between March 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026, alleged that PPL violated state and federal law by, among other things, failing to pay them accurately and on time and by providing benefits that did not comply with the New York Home Care Worker Wage Parity Act. 

Ruling from the bench in Calderon v. Public Partnerships, LLC, U.S. Magistrate Judge Lara K. Eshkenazi of the Eastern District of New York granted preliminary approval and certified a settlement class led by four plaintiffs, Philip Calderon, Farshad Pinchasi, Allison Fields and Dana Folgar.

The lead plaintiff in the case is Calderon, a 26-year-old Staten Island native who works as a personal assistant for his father. Calderon’s father, who suffers from severe arthritis and requires significant assistance with daily activities, relies on his son’s care to live safely and independently at home.

“I am thankful that we were able to come to a resolution to help home care workers like me,” said Calderon. “This settlement will put money back into workers’ pockets and ensure we all can continue to provide a critical service to the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers in the CDPAP program.”

The settlement is, to Plaintiffs’ knowledge, the first private class action settlement under the Home Care Worker Wage Parity Act, and a historically large wage-and-hour class action settlement.

“Personal assistants provide essential care that keeps tens of thousands of older and disabled New Yorkers safely in their homes,” said Richard Blum, staff attorney in the employment law unit at The Legal Aid Society. “Today’s action will help ensure that their hard-earned money is returned to them. We are grateful that the court granted preliminary approval.”  

“This settlement shows that New York’s Home Care Worker Wage Parity Act provides meaningful benefits and protections for homecare workers.” said Hugh Baran, partner at Katz Banks Kumin LLP. “The court’s approval today marks a major step forward, and we look forward to final approval.”  

Under the settlement, eligible personal assistants do not need to take any action now. Following preliminary approval, class members will receive formal notice of the settlement by email and text message. The court has scheduled a final approval hearing for Nov. 10, 2026.

In August 2025, a judge approved a settlement agreement between New Yorkers who lost critical homecare services through the Medicaid-funded CDPAP and the New York State Department of Health (DOH).

Class members and the public can continue to receive updates regarding the settlement here publicpartnershipssettlement.com/.