New York Attorney General Letitia James is encouraging rideshare drivers who believe they were underpaid by Uber and Lyft to file claims on or before January 31, 2025 to receive the funds they are due under settlements reached by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).
In November, James secured $328 million in back payments for drivers after an OAG investigation found that Uber and Lyft withheld funds from drivers and failed to provide valuable benefits.
Now, the attorney general has extended the deadline to file claims for those settlement funds to January 31, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. and is calling for all rideshare drivers to check their eligibility and submit a claim online before the deadline.
“Rideshare drivers help keep New York moving and deserve full and fair compensation for their hard work,” Attorney General James said Tuesday. “I am proud to have secured this landmark settlement with Uber and Lyft and to be returning these funds to the drivers that rightfully earned them. I urge any Uber or Lyft driver who believes they may be eligible to file a claim now to get their money back before the deadline on January 31, 2025."
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James obtained $290 million from Uber and $38 million from Lyft in a landmark settlement, which also instituted a “minimum earnings level” for drivers, paid sick leave, proper hiring and earnings notifications, and other improvements to drivers’ working conditions.
New Yorkers who drove for Uber between 2014 and 2017 or for Lyft between 2015 and 2017 may be eligible to receive money from the settlement funds, which are being distributed in full to current and former drivers. Drivers who believe they may be eligible and have not yet filed a claim, or who previously filed a claim but did not receive a response, are encouraged to file a claim online as soon as possible.
From 2014 to 2017, Uber deducted sales taxes and Black Car Fund fees from drivers’ payments when passengers should have paid those taxes and fees. Uber misrepresented the deductions made to drivers’ pay in their terms of service, telling drivers that Uber would only deduct its commission from the drivers’ fare, and that drivers were “entitled to charge [the passenger] for any tolls, taxes or fees incurred,” though no method to do this was ever provided via the Uber Driver app.
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Lyft employed a similar method to shortchange drivers from 2015 to 2017, deducting an 11.4 percent “administrative charge” from drivers’ payments in New York equal to the amount of sales tax and Black Car Fund fees that should have been paid by riders.
Uber and Lyft also failed to provide drivers with paid sick leave available to employees under New York City and New York state law.
In addition to paying a total of $328 million in back pay to former drivers, James required Uber and Lyft to institute an “earnings floor,” guaranteeing drivers across the state are paid a minimum rate from dispatch to completion of the ride. Drivers outside of New York City now receive a minimum of $26 per hour, adjusted annually for inflation, which marks the first time that the thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers working primarily outside of New York City are guaranteed minimum pay.
Uber and Lyft drivers also now receive guaranteed paid sick leave, earning one hour of sick pay for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 56 hours per year. The companies must also notify drivers of the amount paid by the rider after each ride, offer in-app chat support for drivers in multiple languages, and provide drivers with proper hiring notices and earnings statements. In addition, drivers will now be able to appeal all deactivations from the Uber and Lyft platforms.
More than 100,000 drivers throughout New York are eligible to receive settlement funds and the benefits afforded to them under these historic settlements. As of December 18, over 88,000 claims have already been filed. To file a claim for backpay, drivers can visit the Uber or Lyft settlement portals.
What if I encounter issues?
Anyone experiencing an issue filing a claim should contact Rust Consulting directly. Drivers with questions about the Uber settlement can contact 1-800-625-2332 or info@UberNYAGSettlement.com and drivers with questions about the Lyft settlement can contact 1-800-433-5314 or info@LyftNYAGSettlement.com.
For information on the settlements, drivers can also contact the New York Taxi Workers Alliance at (718) 706-9892 or media@nytwa.org.
