Lyft fined $2.1 million for misleading ads about how much drivers can earn

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on friday Rideshare company Lyft has agreed to pay $2.1 million as a share proposed settlement This requires it to change how it advertises driver payments.

The company regularly advertised that drivers could earn a “specific hourly amount” – in one example, earnings of “up to $33” per hour for driving in Atlanta were claimed – which was not based on averages, but rather The score was based on the top fifth position of the drivers. , according to the commission. The company apparently included tips in those figures, too.

The FTC writes that such steps “increased the actual earnings earned by most drivers by as much as 30%,” which says the company now has to base potential wage claims on what drivers typically make. A foundation must be made. And those amounts can no longer be included in tips as part of the reported hourly wage.

“It is unlawful to lure employees with misleading claims about how much they will earn on the job,” said FTC Chairwoman Lena M. Khan. “The FTC will continue to use all of its tools to hold businesses accountable when they violate the law and exploit American workers.”

FTC adds examples of Lyft’s offensive ads ComplaintSuch as given below.

Lyft also explicitly promoted earnings guarantees, such as the promise of $975 for completing 45 rides in a weekend. But they also misled drivers who thought they would receive the amount as a bonus in addition to their earnings, when, according to the FTC, the offers were actually guaranteed minimum wages conditional on riding a set number of rides. The company will now have to clarify this fact.

Here is the proposed order:

one in statement on its websiteLyft highlights recent changes it made to telling drivers how much they can earn and says it is “committed to following FTC best practices” when communicating such details. .