Judge approves $162 million settlement for 200,000 downstate home care aides paid by PPL. Here's what workers get

About 200,000 home care workers in the New York City area are in line for back pay after a federal judge in Brooklyn on Tuesday gave final approval to a $162 million settlement with Public Partnerships LLC, or PPL, the company the state picked to pay aides in its Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, known as CDPAP.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lara K. Eshkenazi of the Eastern District of New York approved the deal from the bench, according to The Legal Aid Society, which represents the workers with the firm Katz Banks Kumin. The judge said the reaction from the class had been "overwhelmingly positive," amNY reported.

Who is covered

• Personal assistants paid through PPL in CDPAP who provided services in New York City, Long Island or Westchester County.
• Work performed between March 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026.
• About 200,000 workers in all, according to Legal Aid.

How much and when

Workers do not have to file a claim; the money goes to the whole class without any action on their part, amNY reported. The average payment is about $680, and roughly 50,000 class members are expected to receive between $1,006 and $1,885, according to a Legal Aid advisory. The plaintiffs' final approval brief put the median at about $656.

The brief breaks down the first $157.5 million payment into $40.5 million for wage-and-hour claims, $25 million tied to PPL's health plan and $92 million for paid time off, with PTO balances reduced to match. PPL is also putting at least $4.5 million into a reserve fund, and any unspent health-plan money will be returned to workers after an accounting.

If no one appeals, the settlement takes effect in 30 days, and PPL then has 30 days to send the money to the administrator. Legal Aid says payments are expected to begin in early 2027. Updates will be posted on the settlement website.

What the workers alleged

The four named plaintiffs, Philip Calderon, Farshad Pinchasi, Allison Fields and Dana Folgar, said PPL failed to pay aides accurately and on time after it became the single statewide payer for CDPAP, and that the benefits it provided did not meet the state's Home Care Worker Wage Parity Act. Their lawyers say it is the first private class settlement under that law and the largest wage-and-hour class settlement in a case brought by workers in New York.

The state moved in 2024 to replace hundreds of agencies that employed CDPAP aides with PPL as the sole employer for roughly 300,000 aides statewide, and workers described late or missing paychecks during the transition, amNY reported. As part of the deal, PPL ended its mandatory health plan.

What PPL says

A PPL spokesperson told amNY the company was pleased with the approval but "categorically" denies the allegations, and that settling was a practical decision, not an admission of liability. amNY also reported that two other wage-related class actions against PPL are pending, and that with the deal final, PPL can now ask workers to sign an arbitration agreement for future wage claims, which workers may opt out of.

Some aides at a rally before the hearing said pay problems continue. Workers with questions can check the settlement website for updates.