Uber and Lyft are paying the price for cheating drivers—to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars of wages over several years.
The two ride-hailing giants agreed to a combined $328 million settlement for violating labor laws—$290 million for Uber and $38 million for Lyft—New York Attorney General Letitia James announced today (Nov. 2). They also agreed to a institute “a minimum driver ‘earnings floor,’ paid sick leave, proper hiring and earnings notices, and other improvements in drivers’ working conditions.”
The full amount recovered will be distributed to drivers. Those who drove for Uber between November 2014 and May 2017, and Lyft between October 2015 and July 2017, can check if they’re eligible on the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) website.
How Uber and Lyft stole drivers’ earnings
Uber unfairly made deductions, including sales taxes and Black Car Fund fees from drivers’ pay and misled them to believe they were entitled to charge [the passenger] for any tolls, taxes, or fees incurred. However, “no method to do this was ever provided via the Uber Driver app,” James’s statement said.
Lyft similarly deducted a 11.4% “administrative charge” from drivers’ payments in New York, equal to the amount of sales tax and Black Car Fund fees that should have been paid by riders.
The two also failed to provide sick leave and associated payouts.
Uber and Lyft New York wage-theft settlements, by the digits
$26: Minimum per hour drivers receive outside of New York City, adjusted annually for inflation, “ensuring for the first time that the thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers working primarily outside of New York City will be guaranteed minimum pay,” James said. (Drivers operating in New York City already receive minimum driver pay under regulations established by the Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) in 2019.)
Also $26: How much drivers completing rides outside of New York City will be paid per hour for sick leave.
1: Hour of sick pay for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 56 hours per year. Uber and Lyft will also to allow drivers to request sick leave directly through the apps.
$17: Pay per hour for sick leave for drivers completing trips covered by the TLC minimum driver pay rules, adjusted annually for inflation.
100,000+: Current and former drivers throughout New York that stand to receive settlement funds and the benefits afforded to them under these historic settlements.
90%: Drivers in New York who are also immigrants New York.
Two-thirds: New York gig drivers who work the job full-time.
A non-exhaustive list of checks and balances for Uber and Lyft drivers
Uber and Lyft will also provide drivers with proper hiring notices and earnings statements, including:
📝 hiring notices that explain the earnings to which drivers are entitled,
💸 earnings statements will accurately detail the compensation earned for each pay period,
⏰ notifications for drivers after each ride of the amount paid by the rider,
📱 providing in-app chat support for drivers in multiple languages so they can easily ask questions about their earnings or other work conditions,
🔍 and giving drivers the ability to appeal all deactivations from the Uber and Lyft platforms.