Sometimes ridesharing companies worldwide tend to feel above accountability, according to experts, who cited the Uber and Lyft generating money by cheating their own drivers out of pay. Such violations didn’t occur in the Middle East but in New York. Of course, these violations haven’t gone unpunished. The two companies were fined literally hundreds of millions of dollars, with Uber paying the biggest share of the fine.
Uber and Lyft have agreed to pay $328 million to New York Attorney General Letitia James for “systematically” defrauding drivers of their wages and perks. After an inquiry, more than 100,000 drivers in the state, both active and retired, will be eligible to collect settlement money and associated benefits.
Settlement proceeds and associated benefits will be available to over 100,000 active and retired drivers in the state. In addition, drivers will receive paid sick leave, hourly rates, notices, and in-app chat help to answer any queries they may have regarding their pay and working conditions. James added that drivers had been “systematically cheated” out of compensation and benefits by the two corporations.
Though the violations aren’t new, they occurred several years ago. However, accountability hasn’t been missed, and the drivers, those cheated by the company, seem to receive their dues soon.
The alleged violations for Lyft and Uber happened between 2015 and 2017. James added that her agency had never obtained the “largest wage theft settlement” due to the actions of the firms. The two have long refuted allegations made around the country that they deprive drivers of compensation and benefits, sometimes by categorizing them as independent contractors rather than workers.
There has been unionist activism that led the efforts to settle the drivers’ grievances. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which claims to represent 21,000 yellow taxi, green cab, app-based, liveried, and corporate car drivers, raised concerns that led to the investigation.
Drivers outside of New York City will get a minimum of $26 per hour under the settlement, with annual inflation adjustments, in exchange for trips and sick leave. As mandated by the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, drivers in New York City already earn a minimum wage and some paid time off. According to James, sick leave pay for drivers for Uber and Lyft will be $17 per hour, adjusted for inflation. Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, stated: “We are ecstatic that our members won this historic victory to recover their stolen income.”
A minimum of $26 per hour, annually adjusted for inflation, will be paid to drivers outside of New York City for trips and sick leave under the terms of the settlement. The Taxi and Limousine Commission of New York City mandates that drivers have a minimum wage as well as some paid time off. Drivers for Lyft and Uber will be paid $17 per hour for sick leave, with inflation factored in.
The settlement case against Uber and Lyft, according to experts, seems to be a lesson from which the ridesharing companies must learn. Crookedness and acting as if they are above the law don’t always work. And if it works in lawless regions, it could never work in regions where the rule of law reigns supreme.
