Lyft fined $2.1 million for misleading ads about how much drivers could make

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Friday Ride-sharing company Lyft has agreed to pay $2.1 million as part of the deal, the company said. settlement proposal This will require changes to the way drivers’ salaries are advertised.

The company regularly advertised that drivers could earn “certain hourly rates,” in one instance claiming they could earn “up to $33 an hour” driving in Atlanta. It was based on the income of the top fifth of drivers, rather than an average, the commission said. The company seems to have some hints in these numbers.

These moves “overinflated the actual earnings earned by most drivers by as much as 30%,” the FTC wrote, and the company will now base potential wage claims on drivers’ regular earnings. It states that it is necessary to calculate based on And these amounts can no longer include tips as part of the stated hourly rate.

“It is illegal to lure workers with misleading claims about how much they can earn on a job,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC will continue to use all tools at its disposal to hold companies accountable when they violate the law and exploit American workers.”

The FTC included examples of Lyft’s harmful advertising in its report. complaintsomething like below.

Lyft also appears to be touting earnings guarantees, including a promise of $975 if you complete 45 rides in a weekend. However, according to the FTC, these mislead drivers who thought they would receive that amount as a bonus on top of what they earned, when in fact it was a conditional minimum wage guarantee for a certain number of rides. It is said that he let it happen. The company is required to clarify this fact.

The suggested order is:

in Statement on websiteLyft highlighted recent changes it has made to communicate to drivers how much they can earn, saying it is “committed to following FTC best practices” when communicating such details.