LOS ANGELES – Uber will pay at least $10 million to settle California prosecutors’ allegations that the ride-hailing company misled passengers over the quality of its driver background checks.
District attorneys in San Francisco and Los Angeles sued in 2014, saying Uber falsely claimed its criminal screening of would-be drivers led the industry.
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In fact, prosecutors say, Uber’s background checks were inferior to what taxi drivers undergo because they don’t include fingerprint checks.
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In settling the case, Uber said it already has made many changes prosecutors sought. For example, Uber stopped claiming its background checks were the best available under a different settlement earlier this year.
A judge in San Francisco approved the settlement Thursday. The district attorneys’ offices said if Uber doesn’t comply, it would have to pay an additional $15 million.