Uber is tightening driver background checks in the US and applying the new standards retroactively to existing workers, the company's latest response to a wave of sexual-assault lawsuits brought by passengers. Starting Monday, Uber is expanding the number of criminal convictions that will disqualify a driver or courier from working on its platform, regardless of when the crime occurred, a spokesperson said Friday. The policy will lead to the removal of tens of thousands of existing gig workers, or about 0.5% of the active force in the US, according to the company. The new types of crimes include violent felonies such as armed robbery and aggravated assault, as well as child abuse and endangerment, strangulation and stalking. Previously, Uber's background check system would not have barred people convicted of any of these crimes if the record was more than seven years old. Uber is facing thousands of lawsuits in the US from mostly female passengers who said their drivers sexually assaulted or harassed them, and in February the company was hit with $8.5 million in damages in a bellwether case where it was found liable for not preventing the alleged sexual assault of a passenger.
Uber Technologies IncUber tightens driver background checks and will remove tens of thousands of drivers due to sexual assault lawsuits, increasing regulatory and legal risk.