McLaughlin and Stern Announces Court Approval of Multi-Million Dollar Settlement on Behalf of Workers in Onate v. AHRC Health Care Inc.

McLaughlin and Stern LLP announced today that the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has granted final approval of a landmark settlement totaling $5.15 million in the class action lawsuit captioned Onate v. AHRC Health Care, Inc. The settlement represents one of the largest wage and hour class action recoveries in the district in recent years and delivers meaningful relief to a class of approximately 8,800 current and former employees of AHRC. 

In a detailed order issued on December 5, 2025, Magistrate Judge Jennifer Willis approved the settlement in its entirety, finding the agreement “procedurally and substantively fair, reasonable, and adequate.” The Court also noted that the settlement was achieved after extensive discovery, multiple mediations, review of more than 80,000 pages of documents, and dozens of depositions. 

“This is an important day for thousands of hardworking people who performed essential services and were long denied the wages and protections they were entitled to under the law,” said Brett Gallaway, Partner at McLaughlin and Stern and Class Counsel. “We are proud to have represented this class, to have secured this excellent result, and to have helped deliver long overdue accountability. This outcome reflects years of persistence, detailed investigation, and the extraordinary courage of our clients who stepped forward on behalf of so many others.”

The certified class included both hourly and salaried overtime eligible employees who alleged that AHRC failed to pay them for work performed prior to an after their scheduled shifts and automatically deducted meal breaks even when employees worked through them. After more than four and a half years of litigation, the settlement provides substantial financial relief and avoids the risks of a lengthy trial. 

The Court also approved McLaughlin and Stern’s request for attorneys’ fees, recognizing that the firm worked diligently and effectively on behalf of the class since inception. 

Settlement payments will be administered by Analytics LLC in accordance with the Court’s judgment.