Published
March 6, 2025
Updated
August 3, 2026
The $6 million UNITE HERE settlement covered people whose information may have been involved in an October 2023 cyberattack. Claims are closed and the court granted final approval in May 2025.
Current Status
Claims are closed. The deadline was April 28, 2025, and the court entered final approval on May 15, 2025. The former administrator site currently returns a not-found page and no current general distribution date could be confirmed from its public materials. People who filed should rely on their administrator correspondence and the official case record; no new claim form is available.StatusFinal Approval Granted; Public Payment Update Unavailable
Claim DeadlineApril 28, 2025 — Passed
Settlement Fund$6 Million
Historical ProofClass Member ID; Documents for Loss Claims
What Was the UNITE HERE Lawsuit About?
The consolidated lawsuit arose from an October 20, 2023 cybersecurity incident involving UNITE HERE, a labor union representing workers in hospitality, gaming, food service, airports, transportation, and related industries. Plaintiffs alleged that an unauthorized third party accessed files containing personal information and that the union did not use adequate safeguards. The litigation alleged negligence, breach of implied contract, breach of confidence, unjust enrichment, and related claims.UNITE HERE denied wrongdoing and liability. The parties resolved the case for $6 million without a trial or an admission that the union violated the law. The court dismissed one statutory claim during the litigation and allowed other claims to proceed before the settlement was negotiated.
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Who Was Included?
The settlement class generally included people in the United States whose private information may have been compromised in the October 2023 incident. The affected population included current and former union members, employees, and people connected with certain affiliated local unions, benefit funds, or programs whose information was maintained in the affected systems.Eligibility was tied to the incident and the administrator’s class list, not simply to membership in any labor organization. Notices identified class members and supplied a unique Class Member ID for the claims process. The class excluded people who timely opted out and the other categories identified in the settlement agreement.
What Information Was Allegedly Involved?
The complaints and notice materials described potentially affected information that could include names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, government identification information, financial-account information, health-insurance information, and other private records, depending on the individual. The settlement did not state that every data element was involved for every class member.For that reason, a notice recipient’s own letter was the best guide to the information connected with that person. General background on why these cases produce different benefit tiers is available in OCA’s data breach class action guide.
What Benefits Were Available?
Every participating class member could historically request two years of credit-monitoring services and a pro rata cash payment from the net fund. A class member who experienced qualifying out-of-pocket expenses could also request reimbursement of documented losses up to $5,000. The expense period and eligible categories were controlled by the notice and claim form.The pro rata payment was not a guaranteed fixed amount. It depended on the money remaining after approved loss claims, monitoring costs, court-approved fees and expenses, administration, and other settlement obligations. A request for up to $5,000 likewise did not mean every claimant would receive that cap.
What Proof Did a Claim Require?
The online claim process was gated by the unique Class Member ID printed on the short notice. Under OCA’s proof standard, that administrator-issued code made the settlement proof-required even for a benefit that did not call for receipts. The code helped match each filing to a person on the settlement list.Out-of-pocket reimbursement required supporting material such as statements, invoices, receipts, or comparable records showing an unreimbursed expense reasonably connected with the incident. The historical form was due April 28, 2025. The fact that an old notice or PDF remains searchable does not create a late filing right.
What Happened at Final Approval?
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted preliminary approval on January 10, 2025. After notice and the claim period, the court entered its Final Approval Order and Judgment on May 15, 2025, approving the settlement and the class treatment. That written order—not merely the occurrence of a scheduled hearing—established final approval.The order resolved the settlement’s fairness and released the covered claims of participating class members. It did not itself announce that every claim had been reviewed or that a specific payment had reached each claimant.
What Is the Payment Status?
The settlement terms called for benefits after final approval and after any appeal-related delay. The former official administrator website is no longer serving its case homepage and currently returns a not-found response. No current public administrator statement identifying a general payment date or confirming completion was available for this August 3, 2026 update.That absence should be described as a stale or unavailable public update, not as proof that no payments were made. A person who timely filed should use saved claim confirmations, payment notices, and the administrator correspondence already received. OpenClassActions cannot retrieve or approve an individual claim.
Can Anyone File Now?
No. The April 28, 2025 deadline passed, and the final approval process is complete. A person who did not file a timely claim cannot join the distribution through OCA. A claimant following up on an existing filing should distinguish that request from a new claim and should not submit private information to an unofficial form.Readers seeking active breach matters can review OCA’s data breach hub. The official court documents remain the controlling record for this settlement even though the administrator’s former public homepage is unavailable.
What Did the Settlement Resolve?
The agreement ended the consolidated federal case as to participating class members and exchanged the settlement benefits for a release of the covered data-incident claims. It also avoided the expense and uncertainty of continuing discovery, class certification litigation, trial, and possible appeals. UNITE HERE’s decision to settle was not an admission that the plaintiffs’ allegations were true.The case involved a specific October 2023 event. It does not automatically cover a later union notice, an unrelated employer breach, or a different person who never appeared on the settlement class list. Those matters require their own facts and legal process.
Official Information
Review the latest information on the former official UNITE HERE settlement website website.
Case
In re UNITE HERE Data Security Incident Litigation
Case Number
1:24-cv-01565-JSR
Court
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
Incident
October 20, 2023
Settlement Fund
$6,000,000
Claim Deadline
April 28, 2025
Final Approval
May 15, 2025
Official Website
former official UNITE HERE settlement website
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