No more Mr. Nice Lyft.
From CityLab, Feb. 1:Ride-hailing drivers are caught in the middle of a battle between Uber and Lyft over New York City’s new minimum wage for drivers.
On Friday at midnight, New York City was primed to roll out the most progressive gig-worker protections in the U.S., establishing a $17.22 minimum wage for all drivers of its ride-hailing apps. But before the law could take effect, two ride-hailing companies—Lyft and a smaller NYC-based competitor, Juno—filed a last-minute temporary restraining order to block the rule, arguing that it unfairly advantages the largest player in the city’s ride-hailing market, Uber.
In a ruling Friday morning, a New York Supreme Court judge issued an order allowing Juno and Lyft to withhold the additional funds drivers would have been paid, instead putting them into an escrow account starting on February 8.* Depending on the outcome of a hearing on March 18, the funds will either be redistributed to drivers as back pay, or returned to the companies. And on Friday, Lyft told CityLab it would be paying its drivers the per-hour minimum wage, but will be calculating it on a weekly basis, instead of following the TLC’s formula. They’ll put the difference in pay, whatever it amounts to, into the account. Both Juno and Lyft are scheduled to appear at a hearing on Friday at 3pm.
Uber—often positioned as Lyft’s more antagonistic foil—was also offered the same deal, but the company said it declined to take it. Instead, it will pay its drivers the new, higher wage. “[W]e notified the Taxi & Limousine Commission and the Court that we do not intend to hold back any portion of drivers’ earnings,” said Uber spokesman Harry Hartfield in a statement. Via, another ride-hailing platform that operates in the city and charges less in commission than the other apps, will implement the minimum wage, too.
Now, with some peoples’ raises tied up in court, New York City’s ride-hail drivers are caught in a proxy war over these gig companies’ hold on the city’s riders.
“Obviously I’m really disappointed that Lyft and Juno are suing to preserve the right to pay their drivers poverty wages; that’s appalling,” said city councilmember Brad Lander, who worked with the Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) and New York City’s Independent Drivers’ Guild to draft the legislation....MORE
