(New York) Three California drivers on Tuesday filed a collective lawsuit accusing Uber and Lyft of anticompetitive practices by fixing the prices of races and establishing practices that prevent them from freely choosing the most profitable platform.
Posted at 4:36 p.m.
The two companies “qualify the drivers as self-employed, but deprive these same drivers of a certain economic independence by setting the prices they must charge customers”, advances the complaint.
They also impose rules, such as penalties when a driver refuses a trip or bonuses when he makes a certain number of trips in a limited time, which prevent them from changing platforms when he could earn more from the competitor.
Uber and Lyft, which have fought to ensure drivers maintain self-employed status, must choose, the complaint says: either be “responsible employers who must respect labor laws” by paying minimum wages or dues or “respect laws prohibiting large companies from using their power to fix prices and to apply practices that limit competition to the detriment of drivers and customers”.
They deplore in particular that the platforms have “gradually increased” the commissions pocketed on each trip: they were estimated between 35% and 40% of the price of the race in 2019 and sometimes rose in 2021 up to 70%, says the complaint.
This procedure “misinterprets the facts and the law”, reacted Uber by claiming to have “the intention to (se) defend accordingly”.
“Millions of people choose to make a living on platforms like Uber because of the unique independence and flexibility they offer,” the company adds in a post.
Lyft did not immediately respond to a request from AFP.
The two companies spent millions of dollars in 2020 to support a referendum affirming the independence of drivers in California after the state passed a law requiring them to requalify them as employees.
The plaintiffs want to prohibit the two platforms from fixing the prices of the races, from hiding the price and destination of the races from the drivers until they have accepted and from imposing practices that limit their choices. They also want to stop Uber and Lyft from using arcane algorithms to set prices rather than a transparent fare based on distance, time or ride.
Represented by the workers’ defense association Towards Justice and the firm specializing in collective actions Edelson, they are also asking for damages for the loss of earnings due to the practices currently imposed.