The ride-hailing company Lyft will pay $272.5 million to settle a California wage-and-hour lawsuit, marking the largest such settlement in the state’s history. The settlement will resolve allegations that Lyft misclassified its workers as independent contractors between 2016 and 2020 and denied them wage and workplace protections that were required under state law at the time. Eighty-seven percent of the total settlement will go directly to drivers.
The California Labor Commissioner’s Office filed suit in 2020 in Alameda County Superior Court, alleging that Lyft was not providing to its workers minimum wages and overtime, rest-break premiums, reimbursement for business expenses, accurate wage statements, timely wage payments and sick leave. After being filed, the lawsuit became part of a coordinated proceeding with actions brought by the California Attorney General and the City Attorneys of Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. The cases were coordinated in San Francisco Superior Court in September 2021.
The passage of Assembly Bill 1340 last year gave gig ride-hailing drivers the right to unionize and collectively bargain. The California Public Employment Relations Board officially recognized the union in September after it secured support from 30% of active drivers in the state in August.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
