2023-11-02 16:06:45
These agreements constitute the largest compensation theft settlement ever obtained by the state attorney’s office, he said in a statement Thursday.
They provide for the payment by Uber of 290 million dollars and by Lyft of 38 million, which will be “entirely” returned to the injured drivers.
“For years, Uber and Lyft systematically scammed their drivers out of hundreds of millions of dollars in wages and benefits while they worked long hours in harsh conditions. »
— Letitia James, New York State Attorney, quoted in the press release.
Investigations determined that Lyft and Uber’s operating rules “prevented [les chauffeurs] to receive valuable benefits available under New York labor law.”
More than 100,000 drivers are likely to receive a share of the sums recovered and benefit from the new advantages obtained under these “historic” agreements.
“Today, Uber reached a landmark, first-of-its-kind agreement” that represents “a victory for New York State drivers who can now enjoy the flexibility so important to them while having new benefits and protections,” responded Uber, in a message from its legal director Tony West published on the website.
In addition to financial sanctions, the two groups will have to create a minimum “floor” of remuneration, paid sick leave (up to 56 hours per year), provide “correct” information in terms of recruitment and remuneration as well as other “improvements in working conditions”, specified the justice press release.
He explains that between 2014 and 2017, Uber deducted from payments to its drivers taxes that should have been charged to passengers and that it deceived drivers by including these taxes in the commission it withheld from them. The group clarified that they might charge these taxes to passengers, but without providing them with the option to do so in the application.
Lyft operated in a similar manner between 2015 and 2017, charging an “administrative fee” of 11.4% — which corresponds to the taxes in question.
Contacted by AFP, the company did not react immediately.
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