Uber announces stronger background checks for drivers
The ride share company announced new criteria for permanent bans after recent sexual assault lawsuits.
Pressured by recent lawsuits claiming Uber didn't do enough to prevent sexual assault, the ride-sharing company has announced stricter background check requirements for drivers."After listening to a wide range of feedback, we’ve broadened the criteria for convictions that permanently disqualify someone from driving or delivering with Uber," the company wrote in a recent blog post. "Our goal is to build the safest platform."
SEE ALSO: Meta is pushing for social media exclusions in new child safety regulation The new review process expands on existing driver requirements, permanently banning drivers with convictions that "may be sexual in nature." The new rules also disqualify drivers with misdemeanor or felony stalking and strangulation-related offenses because they "can be predictors of future violence," Uber explains. The company says the changes were influenced by recommendations from domestic violence prevention experts and civil rights groups.
In addition, background checks will be run for the driver's entire lifetime (technically 99 years). Previously, Uber's third-party background checks providers only ran Social Security Number (SSN) traces for the previous seven years. The company stated the new requirements will not retroactively apply to existing driver accounts "with no serious interpersonal safety-related complaints of any kind," and if their conviction is "more than 15 years old and was not sexual in nature."
The checks are still rolling out to drivers nationwide.Multiple New York Times investigations have revealed an industry-wide prevalence of violent altercations with ride-share drivers, perpetrated primarily against female riders. A December exposé alleged Uber's background check protocols still approved drivers with violent felony convictions.
In February, Uber was deemed partially liable for the rape and assault of a ride-share passenger, who alleged the company failed to implement safety provisions that could have prevented the assault. The case i
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