Lyft to Pay $272.5 Million in California Wage Theft Settlement
Lyft has agreed to pay $272.5 million to settle claims from the state of California and three major cities—Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego—that it misclassified drivers as independent contractors instead of employees between April 2016 and December 2020. The settlement is subject to court approval and covers alleged violations related to minimum wage, overtime pay, and other labor protections typically afforded to full-time workers. The case was consolidated with lawsuits filed by thousands of Lyft drivers who claimed they were denied employee benefits due to their classification as contractors. California's Labor Commissioner called this the largest settlement in state history for a wage theft claim. While Lyft stated that it believed its driver classifications were lawful, the company expressed relief at resolving the matter. This follows similar legal challenges faced by other gig economy companies like Uber and highlights ongoing regulatory scrutiny of how such firms categorize their workforce.
