NYC Home Care Workers Seek Massive Back Pay In Settlement

NEW YORK, NY— A group of home care workers in New York may soon see money from a proposed legal settlement tied to how they were paid while caring for elderly and disabled residents in their homes.

The case, Calderon v. Public Partnerships LLC, was filed in April 2025 in federal court in Brooklyn.

It focuses on workers in the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, known as CDPAP, a Medicaid program that lets people receiving care choose their own aides.

That means instead of going through a traditional agency, patients can hire someone they trust, often a family member or someone they already know, to help with daily tasks like bathing, dressing or cooking.

The lawsuit was brought by four workers, including Philip Calderon, along with others represented by The Legal Aid Society and Katz Banks Kumin LLP.

They cited thousands of caregivers may have been shortchanged in pay and benefits, including wage parity funds and unused paid time off.

Now, the workers and the company running payroll for the program, Public Partnerships LLC, say they’ve reached a proposed settlement.

It would cover about 200,000 home care workers in New York City.

If approved, the agreement could lead to several types of payments: money for general damages, adjustments to wage parity compensation, repayment of certain paid time off balances, and other remaining funds connected to the program’s benefit accounts.

The judge still has to decide whether to approve the deal.

If the court agrees to move forward, workers in the class would get official notice and later have a chance to receive payments.

A preliminary hearing is set for July 1.

Public Partnerships LLC, which now serves as the single statewide fiscal intermediary for CDPAP, said it did nothing wrong but agreed to settle to avoid a long court fight.

The company said it made the decision to “focus on the crucial support it provides to the more than 700,000 consumers and caregivers they support across the country.”

One of the plaintiffs, Philip Calderon, said the deal would help workers who keep the system running every day.

“This settlement will put money back into workers’ pockets and ensure we all can continue to provide a critical service,” he said.

Lawyers for the workers said the case is about making sure home care aides are paid fairly for essential work that allows people to stay in their homes instead of going to nursing facilities.

“The personal assistants in CDPAP provide essential care that allows tens of thousands of older and disabled New Yorkers to remain safely in their homes,” Richard Blum, of The Legal Aid Society, said.

The settlement is not final yet. A judge must approve it before any payments are made.