Public Partnerships, LLC and
PCG Public Partnerships

No Company is Too Big to Play Fair.

On May 11, 2017, we filed a Complaint against Public Partnerships, LLC d/b/a PCG Public Partnerships (PPL) in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleging a violation of federal and state overtime laws.

The named plaintiff, a direct care worker, filed his claims individually and on behalf of all similarly situated employees. The Complaint alleges that PPL violated federal law and Pennsylvania state law when it denied or improperly paid overtime wages to direct care workers. The named plaintiff seeks unpaid wages and liquidated damages for himself and all other similarly situated direct care workers.

The case was filed as a Fair Labor Standards Act collective action under federal law and as a class action under Pennsylvania law.

Nichols Kaster, PLLP has partnered with Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC in Washington, D.C. (http://www.cohenmilstein.com/) in this matter.

This case is entitled Talarico v. Public Partnerships, LLC d/b/a PCG Public Partnerships, Court File No. 5:17-cv-02165 (Eastern District of Pennsylvania)

uPDATE INFO

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:Am I Eligible?

A:
Because this lawsuit arises under both state and federal law, you may have a qualifying state law claim, federal law claim, or both state and federal law claims.
Do I Have a Qualifying State Law Claim?
You may have a claim under Pennsylvania state law if you worked overtime (over 40 hours per week) as a direct care worker for PPL within the past three years.
Do I Have a Qualifying Federal Law Claim?
You are eligible to make a claim in this case under federal law claim if you worked overtime (over 40 hours per week) for PPL as a direct care worker at any time from January 1, 2015, to the present. In order to make a claim, please complete a consent form (see below) and return it to our office.
Q:Is This a Class Action? What Does that Mean?

A:
This case is both a potential class action under state law and a potential collective action under federal law. This means that, depending on the type of claim you have, there may be a slightly different process for joining and participating in this suit. See below for more details on this process.
Though the process and terminology may differ slightly, the idea behind both a class and collective action is the same: it allows one or more people to sue on behalf of themselves and other people who have similar claims. In order to proceed as a group, though, the Court must certify the class and collective. Because we are in the early stages of the case, this has not happened yet, but we intend to file the motions at the appropriate times asking the Court to grant these certifications.
Q:What Time Frame Does This Case Cover?

A:
While the federal statute of limitations in cases such as this typically allows you to recover unpaid wages for hours worked within two years of signing up for the lawsuit (three years if we can prove the company willfully violated the law), the new home health care worker regulations were implemented in January 2015. This means, under federal law, your claim for overtime pay may only go back as far as January 1, 2015. Pennsylvania law allows you to recover unpaid wages for hours worked over 40 per week, within three years of signing up for the lawsuit.
Q:Do I Have To Pay Anything?

A:
You do not have to pay anything to our firm if you join the lawsuit. We are handling this case on a contingency basis. This means we will only be paid if the lawsuit is successful in obtaining relief through a settlement, final judgment, or award, and our payment will come only out of that settlement, final judgment, or award.
Q:How Do I Prove I Worked Overtime?

A:
It appears that PPL may have records of your time worked that we can obtain during litigation. Even so, you do not need to have proof of the exact hours you worked. If an employer does not keep accurate time records, most courts allow an employee to make a “good faith estimate” of the overtime hours worked.
Q:How Long Will This Case Take?

A:
The length of lawsuits varies. Cases like this typically last one to two years.
Q:What About Retaliation?

A:
The law protects you from retaliation for asserting your rights: it is against the law to retaliate against a person for joining a lawsuit for unpaid wages. If you suffer retaliation, you may be able to assert additional claims. If you feel you may be the victim of retaliation for participating in this lawsuit, please contact our clerk Tommy Navarre at tnavarre@nka.com or (612) 256-3238 immediately.
Q:How Can I Help?

A:
If you have any information that may assist with this case, please contact our clerk Tommy Navarre at tnavarre@nka.com or call (612) 256-3238.
Q:How Do I Learn More?

A:
To learn more about this case, feel free to contact our clerk Tommy Navarre at tnavarre@nka.com or call (612) 256-3238. You can also review case updates, which we will post periodically above.

Case Updates

June 25, 2021

Public Partnerships, LLC Update

We are finishing briefing class certification, in which we explain to the court why we believe the case should proceed as a collective and class action under federal and state law before the case enters the trial stage. After today, we will be waiting to hear from the court about its decision. Once we have received a decision, we will provide an update.

December 10, 2020

Public Partnerships, LLC Update

We are pleased to report that on December 7, 2020, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision that concluded that PPL was not the employer of direct care workers and thus did not have to pay overtime wages. The Court reasoned that because PPL establishes rules for direct care workers, sets their working conditions, and maintains their employment records, there is a fact question that a jury must decide whether PPL is an employer of direct care workers. This ruling means that the case is going back to the federal district court and will be heading toward trial.

Please check back for more information as our case moves forward, and make sure to update our firm with any changes of contact information.

June 11, 2020

Public Partnerships, LLC Update

On January 28, 2020, the Court ruled in PPL’s favor and granted its summary judgment motion, meaning, that the Court agreed with PPL that it is not the joint employer of direct care workers and because it is not a joint employer, it does not owe any money for the overtime hours that direct care workers worked.

We disagree with this decision and decided to appeal the decision to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. We filed our appeal brief on May 20, 2020. PPL has an opportunity to respond to our brief by July 10, 2020. Please watch this webpage for further developments on this appeal.

October 2, 2019

Public Partnerships, LLC Case Update

Back on July 10, 2019, the parties had oral arguments regarding the question of whether PPL is an employer, which would entitle direct care workers to overtime compensation. We are currently waiting to hear back from the Judge regarding this matter. Once we have received a decision, we will provide an update.

In the meantime, please contact our case clerk, Sherick François, with any questions or if your contact information changes. He can be reached by email at sfrancois@nka.com or by phone at (612) 256-3213.

March 7, 2019

Public Partnerships, LLC Update

In December 2018, we learned that the Court is allowing PPL to file a motion for summary judgment to decide the question of whether PPL is one of your employers. PPL must file this motion by March 8, 2019. Once filed, we will file our opposition to PPL’s motion by April 8, 2019. We do not expect a ruling from the Court regarding this matter until the middle of 2019, at the earliest. Once the Court issues a decision, we will provide an update.

March 20, 2018

Public Partnerships, LLC/PCG Public Partnerships – Overtime Lawsuit - Update March 20, 2018

We filed a motion for conditional certification on February 8, 2018, asking the court to certify the case as collective action and issue notice to the other workers. We are currently waiting on a ruling from the court.

We will continue to post periodic updates as the case progresses. In the meantime, please contact case clerk, Sherick François, with any questions or contact information changes. He can be reached by email at sfrancois@nka.com or by phone at (612) 256-3213.

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