The two leading ride-hailing companies said Tuesday they will no longer require sexual misconduct claims to go through a confidential arbitration process, allowing lawsuits to be filed in open court.
“First, we will no longer require mandatory arbitration for individual claims of sexual assault or sexual harassment by Uber riders, drivers or employees,” Tony West, Uber Technologies Inc.’s chief legal officer, said in a blog post[1]. “Second, survivors will now have the option to settle their claims with Uber without a confidentiality provision that prevents them from speaking about the facts of the sexual assault or sexual harassment they suffered.”
West also said Uber would commit to publishing transparency reports that include data on sexual assault claims.
Also read: This is how much Uber drivers really make[2]
Separately, Uber’s main rival, Lyft, told Recode that it would institute the same changes.
“Today, 48 hours prior to an impending lawsuit against their company, Uber made the good decision to adjust their policies,” a Lyft spokesperson told Recode[3]. “We agree with the changes and have removed the confidentiality requirement for sexual assault victims, as well as ended mandatory arbitration for those individuals so that they can choose which venue is best for them. This policy extends to passengers, drivers and Lyft employees.”
In recent years, more companies have been adopting legal language preventing consumers from filing class-action lawsuits[4] against them, forcing them instead into private arbitration.
Tuesday’s move by Uber appears to be another step by Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi, who took over the company last August, to regain users’ trust following a series of scandals.
See: Pamela Anderson claims Uber is not safe for women[5]
Uber is being sued by 14 women [6]who claim they were sexually assaulted by their drivers, and had asked Uber’s board to remove the confidential arbitration requirement.
Last month, a CNN report [7]found more than 100 Uber drivers in the U.S. had been accused of sexual assault or abuse. Khosrowshahi told CNN that cracking down on sexual assault is a “new priority for us” and announced new safety procedures....
References
- ^ said in a blog post (www.uber.com)
- ^ This is how much Uber drivers really make (www.marketwatch.com)
- ^ a Lyft spokesperson told Recode (www.recode.net)
- ^ preventing consumers from filing class-action lawsuits (www.marketwatch.com)
- ^ Pamela Anderson claims Uber is not safe for women (www.marketwatch.com)
- ^ Uber is being sued by 14 women (www.recode.net)
- ^ a CNN report (money.cnn.com)