DOJ Sues Uber for Overcharging People With Disabilities
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The Justice Department (DOJ) recently filed an ADA lawsuit against Uber for charging “wait time” fees to passengers who, because of disability, take longer than two minutes to get in their Uber vehicle. The DOJ seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, monetary damages, including compensatory and emotional distress damages, and a civil penalty against Uber.
Many passengers with disabilities require more than two minutes to board or load into a vehicle for various reasons, including because they may use mobility aids and devices such as wheelchairs and walkers that need to be broken down and stored in the vehicle, or because they simply need additional time to board the vehicle. Passengers with disabilities who take longer than two minutes to board or load into the vehicle are charged a wait time fee regardless of the reason that it takes them longer than two minutes to begin the trip.
According to the DOJ, Uber’s violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) amount to a pattern or practice of discrimination. Uber’s discrimination against a person or group of persons raises an issue of general public importance. This discrimination includes Uber’s failure to:
Ensure adequate boarding time for passengers with disabilities, in violation of 42 U.S.C. §12184(a) and 49 C.F.R. §37.167(i);
Ensure equitable fares for transporting passengers with disabilities, in violation of 42 U.S.C. §12184(a) and 49 C.F.R. §§37.5(d), 37.29(c);
Make reasonable modifications to its policies, practices, and procedures of charging a wait time fee as applied to passengers who, because of disability, require more time to board the vehicle. See 42 U.S.C. §12184(a), (b)(2)(A); 49 C.F.R. §37.5(f); see also 28 C.F.R. §36.302 (incorporated by reference in 49 C.F.R. §37.5(f)).