YIKES! Uber Hired Prison Escapees, Felons, And People With Major Traffic Violations –
Now they have to pay millions
The state of Colorado has fined Uber $8.9million for allowing 57 drivers with serious criminal or motor vehicle offenses to work for the company.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission said Monday that it launched an investigation into the ride-hailing service last year after an Uber driver was accused of assaulting a passenger in Vail.
In the 18 month investigation, the PUC said it found the drivers were allowed to work for Uber in Colorado despite having previous felony convictions, including a former prison escapee, major traffic violations or problems with their driver’s licenses.
According to the PUC, those drivers should have passed the background check allowing them to work for the company.
Uber arrived in Colorado in June 2014, and the PUC was responsible for creating rules to regulate the ride-sharing service. The rules went into effect in January 2016.
The rules required Uber to perform a criminal history check, get the driver’s history, and have a valid driver’s license, according to the Denver Post.
‘We have determined that Uber had background check information that should have disqualified these drivers under the law, but they were allowed to drive anyway,’ PUC Director Doug Dean said.
‘These actions put the safety of passengers in extreme jeopardy.’
The parent company Rasier, LLC will be fined $2,500 for each day one of the 57 drivers worked.
The PUC found that 12 of the drivers had felony convictions, 17 had major moving violations, 63 had drier’s license issues and three had interlock driver’s licenses, required after a DUI conviction.
Uber has just 10 days to pay 50 percent of the massive fine or request a hearing to contest the penalty.
Uber said they had an error in how they handled background checks out of Colorado, and “immediately” took action to correct it. Colorado has a law prohibiting drivers with any felony conviction from working for Uber or other rides-haring services, which Uber said is different than other states’ ride-sharing regulations.
Yikes that will make you think twice. And that’s just in Colorado. Who KNOWS what’s going on in other states.