Uber and Lyft will pay $328 million to settle wage-theft probes in New York. Over 100,000 drivers are eligible for a payout.
Jefferson Siegel/Reuters
- More than 100,000 current and former NY Uber and Lyft drivers are eligible for payouts in a wage-theft case.
- The settlements follow state probes into sales taxes and other fees that drivers were charged.
- Uber will pay $290 million and Lyft will pay $38 million, Attorney General Letitia James said.
Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft will pay a combined $328 million to settle wage-theft claims in New York, Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday.
James said the settlements resolve investigations into whether the companies improperly charged drivers sales taxes and other fees when the costs should have been paid by customers.
More than 100,000 current and former drivers stand to receive settlement funds, James said in a statement.
Uber will pay $290 million and Lyft will pay $38 million. The companies have also agreed to provide drivers outside of New York City with paid sick leave and give drivers outside of New York City a minimum wage of $26 per hour. New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission established minimum wages for drivers back in 2018.
"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," James said.
Tony West, chief legal officer for Uber, said 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, said in a statement, "This is a win for drivers, and one we are proud to have achieved with the New York Attorney General's Office."