Santa Clara, CA: A $27 million settlement against ride share company Lyft Inc. has received preliminary court approval. The California employment lawsuit was brought on behalf of 163,000 current and former California Lyft drivers. If the deal receives final approval, the drivers will remain classified as independent contractors.
“The new proposed settlement agreement fixes the monetary flaws the court previously identified and enhances the nonmonetary benefits at least to some degree,” the judge wrote in finding that the deal is fair and reasonable.
The judge concluded in his statement that the payout for drivers in the earlier proposed settlement of $12 million failed to take into consideration the company’s massive growth through the middle of February.
According to court documents, the overall average payout under the revised agreement would be $141.98, with about 88,000 drivers who worked less than 30 hours collecting no more than $42 each and about 80 who drove for more than 2,000 hours receiving $5,556 or more.
The drivers also negotiated for provisions that protect them against arbitrary deactivation and cover fees for arbitration proceedings over disputes.
The case is Cotter v. Lyft Inc., 13-cv-04065, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).
