Cambrian Homecare settlement: the opt-out decision

Nov 30, 2026 is the date the court-approved notice sets to request exclusion, to object, or to dispute the workweeks and pay periods credited to you. The Final Approval Hearing is set for Dec 28, 2026, so this settlement is preliminarily approved and not yet final.

Do nothing and stay in

The notice says the administrator mails a single check to every participating class member and PAGA worker, with no claim form to file. In exchange you release the class claims the notice describes, which ends your ability to sue over them later.

Exclude yourself and keep your own claim

The notice says workers who exclude themselves get no individual class payment and are not bound by the class release. You trade a payment that is already funded for the right to pursue your own case, valued on your own records rather than a class formula. Whether that is the better move depends entirely on your facts, and no one can promise you an outcome either way.

Object, or dispute your credited weeks

Objecting is not the same as opting out. It keeps you in the class while telling the court what you think is wrong with the deal. Disputing the workweek or pay period count on your notice is separate again, and it runs on the same date.

What you cannot opt out of

The PAGA portion. The notice states you cannot opt out of it, that workers who exclude themselves from the class settlement but who meet the PAGA worker definition stay eligible for an individual PAGA payment, and that the PAGA claims are released either way. The PAGA period runs September 27, 2019 through April 28, 2025, the same span as the class period.

• The Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge Elihu M. Berle in Department 6 of the Spring Street Courthouse, signed an order granting preliminary approval of a class and representative action settlement in Playu Alberto, et al. v. Cambrian Homecare, Lead Case No. 20STCV41466, related to Case No. 23STCV14458, and certified the settlement class.
• The order states a Gross Settlement Amount of $2,950,000, inclusive of attorney fees of up to $1,032,500, litigation costs of up to $100,000, service awards of $15,000 to each of three named plaintiffs, administration costs of no more than $59,950, and PAGA penalties of $250,000. Employer payroll taxes on the wage portion are paid separately by the defendant. Each amount is subject to court approval.
• The class is all individuals who worked for Cambrian Homecare as hourly or nonexempt employees in California at any time from September 27, 2019 through April 28, 2025. The PAGA period is the same span.
• The lawsuit alleges failure to pay overtime wages, failure to pay minimum wages, failure to provide meal periods or pay in lieu, failure to provide rest periods or pay in lieu, waiting time penalties, wage statement violations, unfair competition, and civil penalties under PAGA. These are allegations. The settlement is a compromise and not a finding of liability.
• The order states that the settlement is based on the defendant's representation of 621,000 workweeks in the period from September 27, 2019 to February 27, 2025, which the parties agree makes the workweek value $4.75. If workweeks exceed that figure by more than 10 percent, the defendant must either increase the gross amount proportionally or end the class period early.
• The order divides the $250,000 in PAGA penalties $187,500, or 75 percent, to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and $62,500, or 25 percent, to the PAGA recipients. That is the allocation the settlement agreement and the order state for this case.
• The order sets the response deadline at November 30, 2026, the date by which a class member must mail a signed request for exclusion, mail an objection, or challenge the workweeks and PAGA pay periods allocated to them on the notice.
• The order states that every class member who does not submit a timely, complete, and valid request for exclusion is a participating class member, bound by the settlement and its releases, regardless of whether the member actually receives the notice or objects.
• The Final Approval Hearing is set for December 28, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. in Department 6 of the Los Angeles Superior Court, Spring Street Courthouse. The administrator is ILYM Group, Inc.

The class is defined by the court's order, not by this page. It reaches everyone Cambrian Homecare employed as an hourly or nonexempt employee in California at any time from September 27, 2019 through April 28, 2025, which for a home care agency typically means caregivers and other hourly field and office staff. If you got a notice with a workweek count on it, that count is what your payment is calculated from, and the same November 30, 2026 deadline applies to challenging it.

Is the Law Offices of Justin Silverman involved in the Cambrian Homecare settlement?

No. The case was brought by other attorneys and the settlement is handled by a court-appointed administrator. We are not counsel in the case and we do not process exclusions or payments. This page reports what the court's order says so you can decide what to do before the deadline, and you are free to talk to any firm you choose or to no one at all.

What happens if I do nothing?

You stay in the class. The order says every class member who does not submit a valid request for exclusion is a participating class member, entitled to the settlement's benefits and bound by its releases, even if the notice never reached you or you objected. In exchange for the payment you release the class claims. California courts read a class release broadly, and a worker who stays in can be barred later from related claims that could have been raised on the same facts.

How is my share calculated?

By workweeks. The order fixes the workweek value at $4.75 on the defendant's represented 621,000 workweeks, before court-approved deductions for fees, costs, service awards, administration, and PAGA penalties are taken from the gross amount. Your notice states the workweeks and PAGA pay periods allocated to you, and you can challenge that count by mail by the same November 30 deadline. The order directs the administrator to encourage anyone who challenges to submit supporting documents.

Home care workers often have overtime and travel time issues. Does the formula account for that?

A workweek formula does not. It pays the same per week whether a week held 30 hours or 70, and whether you drove between clients unpaid or not. That is not a criticism of the settlement, which the court has found to be within the range of approval on a preliminary basis. It is the reason the comparison against your own hours and records matters more for some workers than for others. Whether your facts point one way or the other is something no web page can assess.

Can a lawyer send the exclusion request for me?

The order describes the request as a letter from a class member or their representative, so a lawyer can help you prepare it. It must be signed, sent by mail, include your name, address, and an email address or telephone number, and be postmarked by November 30, 2026. The safest course is to sign and mail it yourself and keep proof of the postmark, so there is no question whose election it was or when it was sent.

What about the PAGA money if I opt out?

The order states that class members cannot opt out of the PAGA portion. The PAGA penalties in this settlement are $250,000, of which $187,500 goes to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and $62,500 is divided among the PAGA recipients. You remain eligible for that share whether or not you exclude yourself from the class claims, and you release the PAGA claims either way.

Would an individual claim be worth more than the class payment?

That depends on facts no web page can assess, including how many weeks and hours you worked, what you were paid, whether you signed an arbitration agreement, and what records still exist. Some workers have individual exposure well above a formula share of a class fund and some do not. Nobody can promise you an outcome either way. The point of a review before November 30 is to compare the two while you still have the choice.

What if the November 30 deadline has already passed?

It depends on why, and it is worth asking rather than assuming the answer is no. A class member who received proper notice and simply did not act is generally bound. But the deadline is set by the court, and courts keep several ways to give relief, including for a worker who never received the notice and for mistake or excusable neglect under Code of Civil Procedure section 473 within six months. None of that is automatic. Our guide to opting out covers the exceptions.

• Order Granting Preliminary Approval of Class Action and Representative Action Settlement and Certifying Class, Los Angeles Superior Court, Department 6 (conformed copy; orders class data delivered by 2026-09-14 and notice mailed by 2026-09-28) (opens in a new tab) (Sep 17, 2026)
• Long-form settlement agreement (fully executed; scanned copy posted by the administrator) (opens in a new tab) (Sep 17, 2026)
• ILYM Group, Inc., settlement administrator, case listing with response deadline and hearing date (opens in a new tab) (Sep 17, 2026)