[Cdpaanys] Legal Aid Society sues PPL over unpaid wages

[Laura Cardwell]

The Legal Aid Society and Katz Banks Kumin LLP have filed a lawsuit
<https://legalaidnyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1-Complaint.pdf> on
behalf of an individual plaintiff and tens of thousands of home care
workers against Public Partnerships, LLC (PPL), the newly contracted
statewide intermediary for New York’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance
Program (CDPAP).

This litigation seeks to hold PPL accountable for its widespread failure to
pay personal care assistants accurately, on time — or at all — since
assuming its new role. These failures are not isolated but systemic,
stemming from PPL’s fundamentally broken infrastructure for onboarding
workers, tracking time, approving wages, and processing payroll.

CDPAP is a New York State Medicaid program that empowers older adults and
people with disabilities to hire, train, and manage their own home care
workers — often trusted family members, friends, or neighbors. The program
enables individuals to receive essential care in their homes and
communities, allowing them to continue living independently.

The lead plaintiff in the case is Philip Calderon, a 24-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.

Despite continuing to work full-time since April 1, Calderon has not
received any wages from PPL. His experience reflects the broader systemic
failures that have left thousands of home care workers uncompensated and
put vulnerable New Yorkers at risk.

“PPL must be held fully accountable for leaving tens of thousands of
hardworking caregivers, who provide critical support for family members and
neighbors, without pay for weeks, violating state and federal wage laws,”
said Michael Diller, an attorney with Legal Aid’s Employment Law Unit
<https://legalaidnyc.org/programs-projects-units/employment-law-unit/>. “No
caregiver should ever have to choose between caring for a loved one and
being able to afford rent or groceries.”

If you are a PPL personal care assistant who has not been paid on time — or
at all, please fill out this survey <https://legalaid.nyc/PA-Survey.> so
that we can learn more about the problems people are having.

-- 

Laura Cardwell

Director of Operations & Events

CDPAANYS/CDANY

she/her/hers

(518) 813-9537 ext 1
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://cdpaanys.org/pipermail/cdpaanys_cdpaanys.org/attachments/20250428/857a334c/attachment.htm>