Uber ordered to pay $10m in 60 days to settle driver background check lawsuit
Uber has been ordered to cough up $10m within 60 days by a court in California after a judge found against it in a lawsuit asserting that it had misled customers through its claim to employ the most rigorous driver background checks in the industry.
The cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco pointed out that Uber’s checks were in fact lower than that of regular taxi firms, which record their driver’s fingerprints unlike Uber.
The ride sharing firm now says it employs additional security measures and no longer boasts of its background check prowess but this wasn’t enough to get it off the hook for a multi-million dollar fine.
San Francisco district attorney George Gascón stated: “The result we achieved today goes well beyond its impact on Uber. It sends a clear message to all businesses, and to startups in particular, that in the quest to quickly obtain market share, laws designed to protect consumers cannot be ignored. If a business acts like it is above the law, it will pay a heavy price."
For its part Uber merely said it was "… glad to put this case behind us…"
If Uber fails to pay up within the allotted timeframe an additional $15m fine will be levied, although this will be waived so long as it agrees to operate only from airports where it has received advanced permission and avoids misrepresenting fees added to fares.