Uber and Lyft have agreed to pay a combined amount of $328 million for sneakily withholding wages from their drivers. New York Attorney General Letitia James said it was the largest wage-theft settlement ever secured by her office. Between 2014-17, Uber deducted sales tax and Black Car Fund fees from drivers’ pay, although those fees should have been paid by riders. Lyft, between 2015-17, deducted an 11.4% “administrative charge,” equal to those same taxes and fees, which also should have been paid by passengers. Both companies also violated New York City and New York State law by not providing the drivers, mostly immigrants with families to provide for, with paid sick leave. Now, not only will the affected drivers get financial restitution and sick pay, but a minimum rate of $26/hr will apply to drivers outside of NYC. Those within its limits already have a rate established by the Taxi & Limousine Commission.
Read the full story by Aaron Katersky for abcNEWS, published November 2, 2023, here: https://abcnews.go.com/US/uber-lyft-agree-pay-combined-328-million-withholding/story?id=104565542
