Uber Fined $7.3 Million in California

The company plans to appeal the decision.

Uber app

(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

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A California judge has ordered Uber to pay $7.3 million for failing to provide certain data requested by the state, saying the company is violating a 2013 law that legalized firms of its kind there. The judge also suggested a statewide operations suspension for Uber until it “complies fully with the outstanding requirements.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, that data includes the number of rides requested, driver safety information and accessibility information to ensure drivers are giving rides to all passengers without discrimination.

A lawsuit in Texas last year alleged that Uber (and Lyft) violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by failing to provide a way for wheelchair users to take advantage of their services. Uber has recently added an “accessibility option” to its hailing app, the data from which was also requested by the state of California.

Uber plans to appeal the decision and stated it has already provided a large amount of data to the state on previous requests. In a statement to re/code, Uber said it “has already provided substantial amounts of data to the California Public Utilities Commission, information we have provided elsewhere with no complaints. Going further risks compromising the privacy of individual riders as well as driver-partners. These CPUC requests are also beyond the remit of the commission and will not improve public safety.”

Last month, a California court ruled that an Uber driver is an employee, not a contractor — a decision the company also said it would appeal. According to a re/code analysis, categorizing all Uber drivers in California as employees would cost the company an additional $208.7 million a year.

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Marielle Mondon is an editor and freelance journalist in Philadelphia. Her work has appeared in Philadelphia City Paper, Wild Magazine, and PolicyMic. She previously reported on communities in Northern Manhattan while earning an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University.

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Tags: californiauber

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