SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Uber has agreed to a multi-million-dollar settlement following a lawsuit alleging that the ride-hailing company discriminated against passengers with physical disabilities.
For more, stream KCBS Radio now.
As part of a two-year agreement, Uber will waive wait time fees for disabled riders and pay $2.2 million to 65,000 people, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed in a statement Monday.
In November of 2021, federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit against Uber, accusing the company of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by charging riders with disabilities wait time fees.
The wait time fees, introduced in 2016, began two minutes after the driver arrived at the pickup location and continued until the car began its trip. According to the complaint, Uber infringed on ADA by failing to modify the wait time policy for passengers who needed more than two minutes to get to the vehicle because of a disability.
"People with disabilities should not be made to feel like second-class citizens or punished because of their disability, which is exactly what Uber's wait time fee policy did," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said in a statement.
$1,738,500 will be paid to more than 1,000 riders who complained about the charges and another $500,000 will go to others harmed by the practice, according to the department.
Uber is also facing a separate lawsuit in which more than 500 women have alleged they were assaulted by the company's drivers. In a complaint filed in San Francisco last week, Uber is accused of allowing the pattern of sexual abuse to continue unabated.
DOWNLOAD the Audacy App
SIGN UP and follow KCBS Radio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Related
