OAN’s Abril Elfi
11:11 AM – Thursday, November 2, 2023
Uber and Lyft will pay $328 million altogether in order to settle a New York attorney’s claim that accused the companies of cheating drivers out of pay and benefits.
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On Tuesday, Attorney General Letitia James announced the $290 million settlement with Uber and the $38 million settlement with Lyft, concluding her office’s multi-year investigation into the ride-share apps and calling it the largest wage theft settlement in her office’s history.
They also agreed to provide drivers outside of New York City with paid sick leave and a minimum wage of $26 per hour.
“Rideshare drivers work at all hours of the day and night to take people wherever they need to go,” James said in a statement. “For years, Uber and Lyft systemically cheated their drivers out of hundreds of millions of dollars in pay and benefits while they worked long hours in challenging conditions.”
Tony West, the chief legal officer for Uber, released a statement after the trial saying that the agreement “helps put to rest the classification issue in New York and moves us forward with a model that reflects the way people are increasingly choosing to work.”
Lyft’s chief policy officer, Jeremy Bird, also released a statement.
“This is a win for drivers, and one we are proud to have achieved with the New York Attorney General’s Office.”
James stated further that the New York Taxi Workers Alliance initially brought the issue regarding wage theft to her office. New York Taxi Workers Alliance Executive Director Bhairavi Desai said that they have waited years to see justice.
“We’ve waited eight long years to see justice for our members, a workforce that was cheated out of better living conditions, and timely meals and rest and leisure because the earnings that would have provided for that life were stolen by multi-billion dollar corporations,” Desai said.
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