Uber commits to changes and pays millions to resolve Justice Department lawsuit for overcharging people with disabilities, The Department of Justice (DOJ) had filed a lawsuit alleging Uber violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which prohibits discrimination by private transportation companies. According to the complaint, Uber began charging passengers wait time fees in a number of cities, fees started two minutes after Uber car arrived at the pick up location and charged until the car began its trip.
The complaint alleged that Uber failed to reasonably modify its weight time fee policy for passengers with disabilities who needed more than two minutes to get into a car, for various reasons. For example, wheelchairs or walkers that need to be stored in the car. Or an individual who is blind might need additional time to get from the pick up location to the car itself.
People with disabilities should not be made to feel like second-class citizens or punished because of their disability, which is exactly what Uber’s wait time fee policy did.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division
The DOJ filed in court a multi million dollar settlement agreement with Uber Technologies Inc. Under the agreement, Uber will offer several million dollars in compensation to more than 65,000 Uber users who were charged discriminatory fees due to disability.
People with disabilities must have access to ridesharing services provided by Uber and similar companies without enduring discriminatory wait time fees. This agreement removes that barrier to equal access for passengers with disabilities and provides a mechanism to compensate those harmed by Uber’s past wait time fee policy.
U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California
The settlement agreement.
For more information on the Civil Rights Division: http://www.justice.gov/crt.
