An independent arbitration tribunal in San Francisco ordered Uber to pay a resident of the city $ 1.1 million in compensation for discrimination by drivers. The American woman complained that the taxi drivers refused to take her because of her blindness.
The lawsuit was filed by Lisa Irving. According to her, in total, the drivers of the service refused her a trip 14 times. In some cases, they insulted her or made claims because she wanted to take a guide dog with her into the car.
In another incident, Irving said, the driver dropped her off halfway, lying that they had already arrived at their destination.
Irving notes that this has happened due to driver rejections. that she was left alone in the street in the middle of the night and could not leave in any way. In the mornings, due to canceled trips by drivers, she was late for work several times – and as a result, she was fired.
In her lawsuit, Irving cited discrimination on the part of the service. Representatives of Uber, for their part, insisted that the company was not responsible for what happened, since the drivers act as its contractors, and not full-time employees.
However, an independent arbitration tribunal, which considered the claim with the consent of both parties to the conflict, sided with Irving. The company is now required to pay her over a million dollars.
This is not the first claim of blind people against Uber. Back in 2014, the American Federation of the Blind filed a lawsuit against Uber demanding that drivers carry guide dogs.
In 2017, the dispute was settled out of court – the company agreed to convey to the drivers the demand for guide dogs to enter the cars.
