Uber, Lyft to pay 8 million to settle wage-theft allegations in New York state

Uber, Lyft to pay $328 million to settle wage-theft allegations in New York state

Published

2 years ago

November 2, 2023

admin

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is interviewed on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, August 2, 2022.

Andrew Kelly | Reuters

Uber and Lyft agreed to pay a combined $328 million to settle allegations the ride-hailing companies unlawfully withheld wages from drivers and failed to provide mandatory paid sick leave in New York state, Attorney General Letitia James’ office said Thursday.

Uber will pay $290 million and Lyft will pay $38 million. The state AG’s office said it’s the largest wage-theft settlement it’s won.

The money will go to drivers affected by the companies’ alleged practices. More than 100,000 drivers in New York could be eligible to receive the funds and benefits secured under the agreements, James’ office said. Drivers will be notified by mail, email or text about how to file a claim.

“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 in a statement. “This settlement will ensure they finally get what they have rightfully earned and are owed under the law. My office will continue to make sure that companies operating in the so-called ‘gig economy’ do not deprive workers of their rights or undermine the laws meant to protect them.”

The settlements, which resolve multiyear investigations, reflect the companies’ latest concessions in a standoff with regulators across the country about the level of oversight they should receive and what they owe their drivers. Uber and Lyft have previously fought efforts to reclassify their workers from contractors to employees, for example, a change they said most of their workers opposed.

Uber’s settlement represents more than 3% of the $9.23 billion in revenue it generated last quarter. And Lyft’s settlement comes to nearly 4% of the $1.02 billion in revenue it reported.

The companies also agreed to ongoing changes in how they pay drivers and offer benefits in the Empire State.

The AG’s office alleged the companies incorrectly deducted charges from drivers’ wages that should have instead been charged to passengers. For example, the office said that from 2014 to 2017 Uber deducted sales taxes and Black Car Fund fees from drivers’ paychecks and misrepresented that it would do so in its terms of service. And Lyft, the AG alleged, deducted an 11.4% administrative charge that equaled the amount of the sales tax and Black Car Fund fees between 2015 and 2017.

Both companies also failed to provide paid sick leave as required under state and New York City law, James alleged.

Under the agreements, Uber and Lyft will be required to give drivers outside of New York City a guaranteed earning minimum of $26 per hour, which will be adjusted each year for inflation. The minimum rate would apply from “dispatch to completion of the ride,” according to a press release from the AG’s office. Drivers in New York City already receive guaranteed minimum earnings under local regulations.

Drivers also will get guaranteed paid sick leave in New York state. For every 30 hours worked, they’ll be able to earn one hour of sick pay up to 56 hours per year, the AG’s office said. Both companies will make updates so drivers can request sick leave through the apps, according to the press release.

Uber and Lyft also agreed to give drivers compensation breakdowns, the AG’s office said. The companies will have to notify drivers how much a rider paid for each ride and give drivers an in-app chat tool to discuss earnings and work conditions. Uber and Lyft also must allow drivers to appeal deactivation from their platforms.

Uber and Lyft both called the agreements with the AG a “win” in statements following the announcement, and both denied wrongdoing.

“This is a win for drivers, and one we are proud to have achieved with the New York Attorney General’s Office,” Jeremy Bird, Lyft’s chief policy officer, said in a statement. “New York has long been a leader in providing drivers portable benefits through flexible earning opportunities with its Black Car Fund, and this agreement expands upon that foundation. We look forward to continuing this work in order to provide New York drivers the independence and full range of benefits available to those in other states, like California and Washington.”

“The agreement is a win for drivers across New York State who can now enjoy both the flexibility that is so important to them, while also having new benefits and protections like a minimum earnings standard and paid sick leave,” Uber wrote in a blog post.

Lyft also wrote in a blog post that it doesn’t expect a material impact on its profit and loss statement from the event and that it accrued for the agreement in Q2 of 2023. Lyft said it expects to pay about $20 million of the settlement in the fourth quarter, with the rest in 23 monthly payments.

WATCH: New York City taxis battle Uber and Lyft for riders

Technology

We’re increasing our Cisco Systems price target after an AI-fueled beat and raise

Published

6 hours ago

November 13, 2025

admin

We're increasing our Cisco Systems price target after an AI-fueled beat and raise

Technology

CNBC Daily Open: An AI and ‘everything else’ market in play in the U.S.

Published

6 hours ago

November 13, 2025

admin

CNBC Daily Open: An AI and 'everything else' market in play in the U.S.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Nov. 12, 2025 in New York City.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

The divergence between the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite on Wednesday stateside reinforces the suggestion that there are two markets operating in the U.S.: one of an artificial intelligence and another of “everything else.”

Not only did the Dow rise, it also secured its second consecutive record high and closed above the 48,000 level for the first time.

The index, which comprises 30 blue-chip companies, is typically seen as a marker of the “old economy.” That is to say, it is mostly made up of large, well-established companies driving the U.S. economy, such as banks, healthcare and industrials, before Silicon Valley became a mini sun powering everything.

And it was those stocks — Goldman Sachs, Eli Lilly and Caterpillar — that lifted the Dow on Wednesday.

To be sure, new and flashy names, such as Nvidia and Salesforce, constitute the Dow too. But as the index is price-weighted, meaning that companies with higher share prices influence the Dow more, tech companies don’t exert as much gravity on it.

That’s in contrast to the Nasdaq, which is weighted by companies’ market capitalization, and dominated mainly by technology firms. The tech-heavy index fell as shares like Oracle and Palantir slipped — even Advanced Micro Devices’ 9% pop on its growth prospects couldn’t rescue the Nasdaq from the red.

It’s not necessarily a warning sign about overexuberance in AI.

“There’s nothing wrong, in our view, of kind of trimming back, taking some gains and re-diversifying across other spots in the equity markets,” said Josh Chastant, portfolio manager of public investments at GuideStone Fund.

But what investors would really like is if fork in the road merges into one. That tends to be the safer path to take.

What you need to know today

The Dow Jones Industrial Average notches record. The 30-stock index climbed 0.68% Wednesday stateside to close above 48,000 for the first time. The S&P 500 was mostly flat and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.26%. The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained 0.71%.

Anthropic to spend $50 billion on U.S. AI infrastructure. Custom data centers will be first built in Texas and New York and go live in 2026, with more locations to follow. The facilities will be developed with Fluidstack, an AI cloud platform.

U.S. October jobs and inflation data might not be released. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that part of the fallout of the government closure could be lasting damage to the government’s data collection ability. But analysts think otherwise.

U.S. House of Representatives heading toward a vote. The House on Wednesday night stateside cleared a procedural hurdle required before the vote could begin on a bill that would end the government shutdown. Voting is expected to happen as of publication time.

[PRO] This U.S. mining stock is a top play: CIO. U.K. fund Blue Whale Capital’s Stephen Yiu said macroeconomic concerns, such as the U.S. fiscal deficit and the weakness of the dollar, could support the stock.

And finally…

People walk by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 18, 2024 in New York City.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Why private equity is stuck with ‘zombie companies’ it can’t sell

Private equity firms are facing a new reality: a growing crop of companies that can neither thrive nor die, lingering in portfolios like the undead.

These so-called “zombie companies” refer to businesses that aren’t growing, barely generate enough cash to service debt and are unable to attract buyers even at a discount. They are usually trapped on a fund’s balance sheet beyond its expected holding period.

— Lee Ying Shan

Technology

Firefly Aerospace shares jump 15% on strong revenues, boosted guidance

Published

8 hours ago

November 12, 2025

admin

Firefly Aerospace shares jump 15% on strong revenues, boosted guidance

Jason Kim, chief executive officer of Firefly Aerospace, center, during the company’s initial public offering at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, US, on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025.

Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Firefly Aerospace‘s stock surged 15% on Wednesday after the space technology company issued better-than-expected third-quarter results and lifted its guidance.

Revenues in the third quarter jumped nearly 38% to $30.8 million from $22.4 million in the year-ago period and nearly doubled from the previous quarter.

Firefly’s net loss totaled $140.4 million, or $1.50 per share. The company said net loss included costs tied to its IPO, foreign exchange and executive severance

The company also lifted its outlook for the year, saying it now expects revenues to range between $150 million and $158 million. That’s up from previous guidance in the range of $133 million and $145 million.

This is Firefly’s second quarterly report as a public company. Last quarter, shares slumped after it posted a bigger loss and lower revenues than analysts were expecting.

The Cedar Park, Texas, company went public on the Nasdaq in August during a period of heightened enthusiasm toward space technology. The U.S. government and NASA have leaned on more contracts with companies like Firefly and Elon Musk‘s SpaceX to support moon missions.

But shares of Firefly have lost 70% of their value since their opening day close, and the company’s market capitalization has plummeted from about $8.5 billion to about $2.7 billion on Wednesday.

In September, Firefly shares sank after a rocket exploded during a ground test at the company’s Texas facility, days after receiving clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration over a separate incident. Firefly has since put “corrective measures” in place, the company said on Wednesday. Shares dropped 35% in September and are down 24% this month.

Firefly in July won a nearly $177 million contract with NASA for an upcoming moon mission, and in October, it announced its acquisition of defense tech firm SciTec to boost its national security portfolio.