Uber and Lyft agree to pay drivers $32.50 per hour in Massachusetts settlement

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Uber and Lyft agree to pay drivers $32.50 per hour in Massachusetts settlement

BY STEVE LEBLANC
Updated 7:23 PM EDT, June 27, 2024

OSTON (AP) — Drivers for Uber and Lyft will earn a minimum pay standard of $32.50 per hour under a settlement announced Thursday by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, in a deal that also includes a suite of benefits and protections.

The two companies will also be required to pay a combined $175 million to the state to resolve allegations that the companies violated Massachusetts wage and hour laws, a substantial majority of which will be distributed to current and former drivers.

Campbell said the settlement resolves her office’s yearslong litigation against the two companies and stops the threat of their attempt to rewrite state employment law by a proposed 2024 ballot initiative.

That question would have resulted in drivers receiving inadequate protections and an earnings standard that would not guarantee minimum wage, she said.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/massachusetts-settlement-uber-lyft-drivers-minimum-pay-e366742fee78c342dc76c6ba9d47e60a

[brush]

1. Oh, boy. $32.50 an hour is going to cause prices to go up. Especially for older riders using them for short trips.

[Omaha Steve]

2. The companies violated Massachusetts wage and hour laws

They broke the law. End of story. Drivers have families to feed too.

[brush]

3. I'm not against the drivers. Just thinking that at that hourly wage, ride share companies will have raise rates.

And what states have a legislated $32.50 hourly wage?

[Omaha Steve]

4. Democratic Gov. Maura Healey said the settlement delivers "historic wages and benefits to right the wrongs of the past

That wage includes the cost of operating the vehicle. From oil changes to a new transmission.

We will have to wait to see what this does to the rate these two companies charge.