You received a Notice because you timely joined this case as an “Opt-in” Plaintiff and worked overtime as an IHSS Provider in Los Angeles within the two-year statute of limitations covered by this case. Your decision to participate in this settlement may have legal consequences so please review the Notice carefully. To obtain your share of the settlement, you will need to complete the IRS Form W-9 and return it to the Settlement Administrator by: November 5, 2024, or complete it on this website by using your individual PIN and password included in the notice.
On June 7, 2017, the Named Plaintiff filed this putative collective action on behalf of herself and other similarly-situated In-Home Supportive Services (“IHSS”) Providers (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) who worked in the County of Los Angeles (“Defendant” or “the County”). The Named Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint against the County on July 17, 2017. In the suit, Plaintiffs allege that the County failed to pay overtime compensation for overtime hours worked under applicable federal law for the time of January 1, 2015 to January 31, 2016. Plaintiffs sought to recover unpaid overtime wages, liquidated damages, and other related relief.
The Court conditionally certified this lawsuit as a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) on December 11, 2019. Notice of the lawsuit was sent by mail, email and text message, as applicable, to all eligible IHSS Providers, giving them an opportunity to join the lawsuit to assert a claim. Because you filed a “consent to join form,” you are part of the collective action.
The district court made a number of rulings during the case, some of which were appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In November 2022, the Ninth Circuit ruled that a) the County is legally responsible as a “joint employer” for Providers’ unpaid overtime pay, and b) the failure to pay overtime did not constitute a “willful” violation, and so Providers could only recover overtime based on a two-year statute of limitations.
After the Ninth Circuit’s decision, the case returned to the district court for trial. The County denies all liability, denies that any of Plaintiffs’ claims and allegations have merit, and asserts that a collective action is inappropriate for any purpose other than settlement. The parties reached this settlement before the case was to be heard at trial.
Providers are only included in the settlement if they: a) returned their consent forms by the end of the notice period; b) worked as a Provider in Los Angeles County; and c) worked compensable overtime hours between January 1, 2015 and January 31, 2016 that were within their respective two-year statute of limitations.
Back To Top
On August 2, 2022, through arms-length and comprehensive negotiations at a private mediation with a retired Judge, the parties reached agreement on the financial terms of a settlement. Plaintiffs’ Counsel has obtained for the Providers what they believe to be a fair and reasonable settlement offer in light of disputed issues. The parties agreed to a total maximum settlement of $7,325,000.00 (“Settlement Sum”). The Settlement Sum covers the claims for the Providers who timely opted into the collective action, and who have claims for unpaid overtime.
A. Your Settlement Amount
Your individual settlement offer is based on a calculation performed by Plaintiffs’ Counsel using the date your “opt-in” consent form was sent in, your dates of work as an IHSS Provider, and your hours and earnings history within the two-year statute of limitations (based on IHSS timekeeping and payroll records maintained by the State of California). From this potential damage calculation, each Opt-in Plaintiff was allocated her or his pro rata share of the total settlement reached, after a deduction for attorneys’ fees, litigation costs, administration costs, Named Plaintiff Service Payments, and employer-side taxes, all of which the Court has approved. Please note that your individual settlement allocation reflected in this notice could change based on circumstances in the settlement, but it is not expected to decrease.
Your settlement payment will be reported as one-half W-2 wage earnings and one-half penalties, interest, and liquidated damages, reported on a 1099. You will be responsible for the payment of any personal taxes owing on that amount. Standard employment tax withholdings will be made from the portion of your settlement award allocated to the settlement of your claim for unpaid wages.
Because half of your payment will be reported and taxed as wages, it is important that you complete the IRS Form and return it to the Claims Administrator by November 5, 2024. You may also complete the form online and entering the PIN and password contained in your notice. If you do not complete the IRS Form, you will still receive your settlement payment, however there may be different deductions taken from the wage portion than what you select.
You will have 180 days to cash your settlement checks. If you do not cash your check during this time, the money will be transferred to the California unclaimed property fund. You may claim that money by going to the State Comptroller’s webpage and following the instructions there:https://ucpi.sco.ca.gov/.
B. Attorneys’ Fees and Costs; Other Amounts Included in the Maximum Settlement Amount
First, the Court approved 30% of the total Settlement Sum ($2,197,500.00) as payment for attorneys’ fees, plus reimbursement of litigation costs of $125,000.00. The Settlement Sum also includes the costs of administering the settlement, estimated to be $37,654.00. Additionally, the Court approved Named Plaintiff Service Payments of $10,000.00 each for the two Named Plaintiffs, in recognition of their work bringing the case and pursuing these claims. Finally, the Settlement Sum will cover any employer-side taxes due as a result of the payments to eligible Providers.
C. Scope of Release
If you accept your settlement offer, you agree to waive and release your claims against the County for damages, penalties, interest, attorneys’ fees, costs, and any other amounts recoverable under the Fair Labor Standards Act based in any way on the alleged failure to timely implement overtime pay under changed Fair Labor Standards Act regulations, through February 1, 2016.
If you do not participate in the Settlement, your claim will be dismissed by the Court without prejudice, and you will not receive a settlement payment, but you will be entitled to file a separate individual lawsuit if you so choose, subject to all applicable statute of limitations that may apply and/or may have already run on your claims You will have 60 days of tolling after the close of the notice period; after that point, the statute of limitations will resume and continue to run, to the extent it has not already expired.
D. Your Options
You do not need to do anything to participate in the settlement and receive your settlement payment. To ensure your payment is received on time and with your preferred deductions, you must return a completed IRS Form W-9. If you do not return the IRS Form by November 5, 2024, your payment may be delayed, and it may have additional deductions taken out. You may also return your signed form by email or fax, or complete the form online. The Settlement Administrator’s address is as follows:
Ray v. County of Los Angeles
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 26170
Santa Ana, CA 92799
Email: Info@IHSSOvertimeCase.com
Fax: (714) 824-8591
You have the right to withdraw from this lawsuit if you do not wish to release your claims in exchange for your settlement payment. If you do so, you will not release any claims, you will retain the right to bring your own claims against the County, to the extent the claims are within the applicable statute of limitations, but you will not receive any settlement payments from this settlement. If you wish to withdraw from this Lawsuit and reject the settlement, you must submit an Exclusion Letter to the Settlement Administrator. The Exclusion Letter must include your name and contact information (such as mailing address, email address, phone number, or Provider ID), your signature, and the following statement or a substantively similar statement: “I request to be excluded from the Settlement in the matter of Ray v. County of Los Angeles, Case No. 2:17-cv-04239-PA-SKx, United States District Court for the Central District of California.” The Settlement Administrator may ask you for additional proof of identity. If you timely submit a valid Exclusion Letter, you will not participate in or be bound by the Settlement, will not release any claims through this Settlement, will not be entitled to any payment from the Settlement, and will not have any right to appeal from, or comment on the Settlement. If you return a valid Exclusion Letter, your claims in this case will be dismissed without prejudice to your right to file a separate individual lawsuit. Your claims will be tolled for 60 days until November 5, 2024 to file a new lawsuit without any further loss of time under the applicable statute of limitations. To reject this settlement and withdraw from the Lawsuit, you must send your rejection in writing to the Settlement Administrator.
Back To Top
If you would like to review the full Settlement Agreement, or if you have any questions about the settlement, you should contact Plaintiffs’ Counsel:
Matthew C. Helland
Daniel S. Brome
Nichols Kaster, LLP
235 Montgomery St., Suite 810
San Francisco, CA 94104
612-255-3360
ihss@nka.com
Philip Bohrer
Bohrer Brady, LLC
8712 Jefferson Highway, Suite B
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
Back To Top