Lyft will pay $272.5 million to settle California driver wage theft claims

By Daniel Wiessner

Oct 1 (Reuters) - Lyft LYFT.O has agreed to pay $272.5 million to settle claims by the state of California and three of its largest cities that the company mislabeled drivers as independent contractors rather than its employees to save money.

• Lyft, Uber and other app-based services that rely on "gig workers" have been fighting worker misclassification claims for more than a decade

• Contractors are not owed minimum wage, overtime, and other protections under federal and state laws

• California sued Lyft in 2021, as did Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego

• The cases were merged with lawsuits brought on behalf of thousands of Lyft drivers

• The settlement, subject to court approval, covers alleged violations between April 2016 and December 2020

• Lyft in a statement said drivers have always been properly classified under the law and “we're glad to put this case behind us”

• It is the largest settlement involving wage theft claims in California history, according to the state Labor Commissioner's Office

• Lyft and Uber in 2023 jointly agreed to pay $328 million to settle similar claims by New York's attorney general