Pier 39 settlement: the opt-out decision

Oct 29, 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 Mar 3, 2027, 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 August 29, 2022 through October 1, 2024, which is narrower than the class period.

• On August 20, 2026 the San Francisco Superior Court, Judge Ethan P. Schulman presiding in Department 304, granted preliminary approval of a class and PAGA settlement in Watson v. Pier 39, LP, Case No. CGC-23-608701, and approved the class notice as to form and content.
• The settlement agreement states that Pier 39, LP will pay $640,000 as the Total Settlement Amount, from which court-approved attorney fees, litigation costs, administration costs, the class representative's enhancement award, and PAGA penalties are deducted before individual payments are calculated.
• The order certifies, for settlement purposes only, a class of all individuals employed by Pier 39, LP as nonexempt or hourly employees in California during the Class Period, which runs from August 29, 2019 through October 1, 2024. The PAGA group is the same workers during the PAGA Period, August 29, 2022 through October 1, 2024.
• The approved notice states that the settlement resolves claims for unpaid wages, unpaid overtime, meal and rest period premiums at the proper rate, failure to provide meal and rest periods, itemized wage statement violations, failure to timely pay wages during employment and at separation, failure to reimburse business expenses, waiting time penalties, and PAGA civil penalties. The notice states that Pier 39 denies all of the allegations and expressly denies violating any laws.
• The settlement agreement estimates individual shares on roughly 13,000 workweeks across the class and allocates payments by each participating member's workweeks, so two workers at the same employer can receive very different amounts.
• The agreement provides for a request of up to 35 percent of the total, currently estimated at $224,000, in attorney fees, litigation costs of up to $25,000, an enhancement award of up to $10,000 to the named plaintiff, and $75,000 in PAGA penalties, of which 65 percent goes to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and 35 percent to the PAGA group. Each amount is subject to court approval.
• The order sets the response deadline at 45 calendar days from the administrator's initial mailing of the notice, plus 15 days for anyone whose notice is re-mailed. The administrator, ILYM Group, posts October 29, 2026 as the response deadline for this case.
• The order states that any class member who does not submit a timely and valid request for exclusion will be bound by the settlement and the released class claims, and that class members may not opt out of or object to the PAGA portion. A worker who excludes themselves from the class claims still receives their share of the PAGA payment and is bound by the PAGA release.
• The Final Approval Hearing is set for March 3, 2027 at 9:00 a.m. in Department 304 of the San Francisco Superior Court. The notice states that payments are made only if the court grants final approval and after any appeals are resolved.

The class is defined by the court's order, not by this page. It reaches everyone Pier 39, LP employed as a nonexempt or hourly employee in California at any time from August 29, 2019 through October 1, 2024. If you got a notice with a workweek count on it, that count is what your class payment is calculated from, and the same October 29, 2026 deadline applies to disputing it.

Is the Law Offices of Justin Silverman involved in the Pier 39 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 and the approved notice say 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 notice says you do not have to do anything to receive a payment, and a check for your share is mailed to the address the notice went to after final approval. In exchange you release the class claims described in the notice. 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. For many workers a certain payment now is still the sensible outcome. It is worth knowing it is a real release rather than a formality.

How is my share calculated?

By workweeks. The agreement divides the net fund, after court-approved deductions, by the total workweeks of everyone who stays in, then multiplies by your own workweeks during the class period. The agreement's own example works out to about $49 per workweek on 13,000 total workweeks before deductions, so a worker with a long tenure receives far more than one with a short one. Your notice states the workweeks credited to you, and you can dispute that count by the same October 29 deadline.

Can a lawyer send the exclusion request for me?

This notice is more flexible than many. The settlement agreement describes the request as a letter from a class member or their representative, and the court's order directs the administrator to accept any request where it can reasonably tell who you are and that you want to be excluded. So a lawyer can help you prepare it. The safest course is still to sign and send it yourself, by mail or email, so the postmark or send date is in your hands and there is no question whose election it was.

What about the PAGA money if I opt out?

The order says you cannot opt out of the PAGA portion at all. If you worked during the PAGA period, August 29, 2022 through October 1, 2024, you receive your share of the PAGA payment whether or not you exclude yourself from the class claims, and you release the PAGA claims either way. The PAGA penalties in this settlement are $75,000, split 65 percent to the state and 35 percent to the workers.

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

That depends on facts no web page can assess, including how many weeks 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 October 29 is to compare the two while you still have the choice.

Can I object and also opt out?

No. The order says a class member who requests exclusion has no standing to object. Objecting keeps you in the class and tells the court what you think is wrong with the deal, and you can also appear at the March 3, 2027 hearing to say so. Excluding yourself takes you out of the deal entirely. Pick the one that matches what you want.

What if the October 29 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. A worker who never received the notice is generally not bound at all. Code of Civil Procedure section 473 lets a court relieve someone from an order taken through mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect, if the request is made within a reasonable time and never more than six months later. None of that is automatic. Our guide to opting out covers the exceptions.

• Order Granting Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action and PAGA Settlement, San Francisco Superior Court (filed 2026-08-20) (opens in a new tab) (Aug 20, 2026)
• Amended Joint Stipulation of Class Action and PAGA Settlement, with the court-approved Class Notice as Exhibit A (opens in a new tab) (Aug 4, 2026)
• ILYM Group, Inc., settlement administrator, case listing with response deadline (opens in a new tab) (Sep 17, 2026)