On July 21, 2017, we filed our first amended collective action complaint against the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (“DPSS” or “Defendant”) in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, alleging violations of federal overtime law. The named plaintiffs, hourly homecare workers, brings their claims individually and on behalf of similarly situated employees who were employed by Defendant as homecare workers, homecare providers, or in similar job titles through California’s In-Home Supportive Services program (IHSS) in Los Angeles County who were paid for hours in excess of forty (40) per week at a rate of less than 1.5 times their regular rate.

The Complaint alleges that from January 1, 2015, when federal overtime regulations were revised to provide overtime protections to homecare workers, to February 1, 2016, when Defendant began paying appropriate overtime wages, Defendant underpaid their homecare workers by paying them “straight time” rates, rather than the required one and one-half (1.5) times the employees’ regular rate of pay, for their overtime hours.

The case is filed as a Fair Labor Standards Act collective action, and the named plaintiff seeks unpaid overtime wages and double damages. Nichols Kaster, PLLP has partnered with attorneys Scott Brady and Phillip Bohrer of Bohrer Brady, LLC (www.bohrerbrady.com) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in this matter.

This case is entitled Ray v. Los Angeles Department of Public Social Services, Court File No. 2:17-cv-04239 (U.S. District Court for the Central District of California)

Update Info 

Case Updates

May 11, 2023

Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services Update

In November 2022, we received a decision from the Ninth Circuit regarding the appeal that we argued before them in November 2021. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the County is an employer of the IHSS homecare providers, thus reversing the District Court’s ruling that the County was not liable as an employer of IHSS providers. The Ninth Circuit also ruled that the County did not act “willfully” when it did not pay overtime prior to February 1, 2016. That portion of the ruling means that the overtime claims only have a 2-year statutory period – if the violation were treated as willful, then a three-year period would apply. As a result of this change in the statutory period, several opt-ins lost their claims.

Both parties asked for a rehearing in front of a larger group of judges from the Ninth Circuit (as opposed to just the 3-judge panel that produced this ruling), but the Ninth Circuit informed us and the County that they will not rehear the case. As such, the County also asked the Supreme Court of the United States to rehear the joint-employer issue. We will know in the coming weeks whether the Supreme Court decides to take this case.

Finally, the trial judge originally scheduled the trial to begin on May 2, 2023 but has recently rescheduled it to begin on September 5, 2023. Assuming that the Supreme Court does not decide to hear this case, we do not expect another continuance of the trial date.

August 25, 2022

Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services Update

We are still waiting to hear from the Ninth Circuit regarding their decision on the appeal. We will send an update out to our clients when we hear back and appreciate your patience as we wait. In the meantime, if you need to update your contact information please reach out to ihss@nka.com. Thank you.

December 8, 2021

Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services Update

On November 18, 2021, we argued our appeal of the district court’s summary judgment order to the Ninth Circuit. We are expecting a decision in the coming months. You can view a recording of the hearing here. Please continue to keep your contact information up to date. If you need to update your information, please reach out to ihss@nka.com or 612-255-3360.

September 14, 2021

Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services Update

We have received a hearing date for our appeal before the Ninth Circuit. The hearing has been scheduled for November 18, 2021 at 9:00 a.m.. You may visit the Ninth Circuit’s website for information about how to watch a livestream of the oral argument.

As always, please contact us at ihss@nka.com or 612-255-3360 if you have any questions and/or your contact info has changed recently. Thank you.

December 10, 2020

Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services Update

On October 27, 2020, the Judge ruled in favor of the Defendant on summary judgment about whether the County was an employer of the providers. Summary judgment is a pre-trial decision based on the undisputed facts of a case. In this ruling, the Judge ruled that the county is not an employer for IHSS providers. We argued that the County should be held liable as a joint employer of providers, but the Court decided that under the current structure of the program the County’s role is too limited. Because of this ruling we will no longer be going to trail in December.

We are disappointed this ruling was not in our favor, and have filed an appeal of this decision to the Ninth Circuit. This does mean, however, that the timeline of the case will be extended. We cannot say exactly how long the case will continue, but generally appeals take about 2 years.

In addition to challenging the judge’s ruling on employer status, we will also be appealing decisions from the trial court that held that the County could assert a good faith defense, and that the County did not willfully violate the Fair Labor Standards Act. How the Ninth Circuit rules on these issues will impact whether we can recover liquidated damages, and what statute of limitations applies to the case.

August 23, 2019

Ninth Circuit Rules that Los Angeles County is not Immune from Suit for Failure to Pay Overtime to Tens of Thousands of Homecare Workers

On August 22, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a two-part ruling in favor of In-Home Supportive Services homecare workers represented by Nichols Kaster, PLLP and Bohrer Brady, LLC. The workers seek unpaid overtime from the County of Los Angeles for a 13-month period when their pay did not comply with new federal regulations requiring overtime pay for homecare workers.

The County of Los Angeles argued that it could not be sued for violating federal law because it was acting as an “arm of the state.” The Ninth Circuit rejected that argument, recognizing that counties are distinct from states for purposes of Constitutional immunity, and that the workers were seeking to hold Los Angeles responsible as their employer, not the State of California.

The Court also agreed with Plaintiffs that the federal regulations in question were effective January 1, 2015 not November 2015 as the County had argued. Although the federal regulations were challenged in court shortly before they went into effect, that challenge was ultimately unsuccessful. The Court held that the unsuccessful challenge did not postpone the effective date, even though the legal challenge was resolved after the effective date had passed. The Court recognized that it would be unfair to deny workers a year of wages because an employer gambled on the outcome of a legal challenge to a federal regulation.

The oral argument is available here and the opinion is available here.

March 12, 2019

Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services Update

On March 7, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard cross appeals in this case. The County appealed the district court’s order that it was not immune from suit, and we appealed the District Court’s order finding that the effective date of the applicable Department of Labor regulations was November 15, 2015 instead of January 1, 2015. We hope the Ninth Circuit will issue a ruling on these appeals in the coming months. You can watch the oral argument here.

January 17, 2018

Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services –Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit - Update January 17, 2018

Los Angeles County filed a motion to dismiss our case. In response to that motion, the Court ruled that the County was not required to follow the new overtime regulations until November 12, 2015, instead of January 1, 2015 as we had argued. However, the Court denied the County’s argument that it could not be sued for overtime violations because it was acting as an arm of the state. The County is appealing this ruling. We have filed a request for permission to appeal the court’s ruling regarding the effective date of the overtime regulations.

The appeals process takes time, so in the meantime if there are any questions or any changes to contact information, please feel free to contact our case clerk at ihss@nka.com or call at (612) 255-3360.

June 8, 2017

IHSS Homecare Provider Files Overtime Lawsuit Against California Department of Social Services and Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services

An employee of the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) ("Defendants") filed a lawsuit on June 7, 2017 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, alleging violations of federal overtime law. The named plaintiff, an hourly homecare worker, brings her claims individually and on behalf of similarly situated employees who were employed by Defendants as homecare workers, homecare providers, or in similar job titles through California's In-Home Supportive Services program who were paid for hours in excess of forty (40) per week at a rate of less than 1.5 times their regular rate.

The Complaint alleges that from January 1, 2015, when federal overtime regulations were revised to provide overtime protections to homecare workers, to February 1, 2016, when Defendants began paying appropriate overtime wages, Defendants underpaid their homecare workers by paying them "straight time" rates, rather than the required one and one-half (1.5) times the employees' regular rate of pay, for their overtime hours. The case is filed as a Fair Labor Standards Act collective action, and the named plaintiff seeks unpaid overtime wages and double damages.

The In-Home Supportive Services ("IHSS") program provides in-home assistance to eligible aged, blind, and disabled individuals as an alternative to out-of-home care. IHSS currently serves over 550,000 recipients through over 460,000 homecare workers (providers) in the state of California. The California Department of Social Services is responsible for the oversight of programs, including IHSS, which serve more than eight million people across the state. The Los Angeles Department of Public Social Services is the second largest department in Los Angeles County and is involved in administration and oversight of the IHSS program at the county level.

Plaintiffs' attorney Matthew Helland of Nichols Kaster, LLP explained, "IHSS Homecare Workers were eligible for overtime under federal law in 2015, but the state and county agencies failed to pay it. These employees worked long hours providing important services and are entitled to fair and legal compensation."

Plaintiffs are represented by Matthew C. Helland and Daniel S. Brome from Nichols Kaster, LLP, which has offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California and Scott Brady and Phillip Bohrer of Bohrer Brady, LLC in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The case is entitled Ray v. California Department of Social Services and Los Angeles Department of Public Social Services, Case No. 2:17-cv-04239 (Central District of California). Additional information about how to make a claim for overtime pay in the case may be found at www.nka.com or by calling Nichols Kaster, PLLP toll free at (877) 344-4628.

Attorneys

• Daniel S. Brome
• Matthew C. Helland

Staff

• Bridget Peterson
• Tommy Navarre