Seattle secures record $15M settlement with Uber Eats over worker pay violations

Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards (OLS) reached a record-breaking $15 million settlement with Uber Eats after the city alleged the food delivery service violated multiple worker protection laws.

With the settlement finalized, more than 16,000 app-based workers will receive back pay and damages. Workers’ complaints included underpayments and a lack of transparency.

“This historic $15 million settlement is a major win for workers and a strong reminder that in Seattle, we hold large companies accountable when they sidestep their responsibilities and shortchange workers,” Mayor Bruce Harrell said during the settlement’s announcement. “We are proud of our nation-leading policies that protect and uplift app-based workers, recognizing that they are a critical part of our local economy and deserve to be treated with fairness, dignity, and respect.”

According to OLS Director Steven Marchese, this was the largest settlement in the office’s history.

“This sets a new benchmark and represents a significant milestone for the protection of worker rights in Seattle in the rapidly growing industry of app-based work,” OLS Director Steven Marchese said. “It’s only fair that companies inform workers of their pay before work begins and honor those commitments. If companies are unclear or fail to keep promises, workers in Seattle should know their rights and available recourse with OLS. When workers come forward, OLS can help bring workplace injustices to light and put hard-earned money back where it belongs … in their pockets.”

Investigating Uber Eats’ violations

Under Seattle law, companies must notify workers how much a job pays to ensure pay transparency. This includes how earnings are calculated, before work begins, and at the time of payment. The law also creates rights for workers to enforce a company’s promises about pay.

OLS launched its first-ever investigation into Portier, LLC dba Uber Eats after a worker complained that they didn’t earn “surge pay” while working during busy times in high-traffic locations. Uber Eats has a surge pricing model that raises and lowers prices depending on the level of demand during a given time period, and advertises paying its workers on a similar sliding scale.

OLS took the position that the company broke its promises to workers by not disclosing to workers that the Boost multiplier applied only to a portion of the workers’ fare, and not disclosing on the offer card that the single dollar amount shown already included contributions from the Boost promotion.

OLS alleged that the payment to workers of less than the pre-work offer amount violated requirements in Seattle’s ordinance. OLS also alleged that Uber Eats violated the law by failing to provide thousands of workers with a required notice of rights about the ICP Ordinance.

“I hope the outcome of this settlement can serve as a reminder that there are institutions whose reason for being is to protect the public, and that individuals should always feel empowered to take action when they feel taken advantage of,” Lukas Kucinski, the worker who brought the complaint to OLS. “The numbers weren’t making sense. Instead of accepting them and moving on, I tried to make the math work. When it didn’t, I took action. Little did I know that it would amount to something like this.”

Uber Eats denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to resolve and settle all ICP claims.

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