But, because Uber doesn’t take fingerprints, the company can’t be sure the person is who he or she says they are, and can’t find criminal records that are more than seven years old. According to the New York Times, a spokesperson for the ridesharing company has stated that Uber’s background checks are on par with Livescan, the method used by taxi companies to check driver backgrounds.
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Whether ride-hail drivers should be held to the same background-check standards as taxi drivers has been the subject of hours of testimony at Los Angeles City Hall, as lawmakers prepare to vote on a permit process that would allow Uber and its main competitor, Lyft, to pick up passengers at LAX.
The company responded Wednesday by saying, “the reality is that [no system] is 100 percent foolproof – as we discovered previous year when putting hundreds of people through our checks who identified themselves as taxi drivers”. This new document actually lists the criminal backgrounds of dozens of its drivers.
Uber, not surprisingly, has pushed back against the latest claim. Uber lost its bid for dismissal of that case last month. The company is also sparring with California’s labor commissioner over a June ruling that drivers connecting with clients through its app must be treated as employees, with a minimum wage, mileage compensation and social security.
One of the fastest-growing sharing-economy companies, Uber operates its ride-share program in 57 countries and has an estimated value of more than $40 billion. He’s given 1,168 rides with Uber, the complaint says.
“I support technological innovation”, Mr Gascon said in an e-mailed statement. “Innovation, however, does not give companies a license to mislead consumers about issues affecting their safety”, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement on Wednesday.
Uber says on its website it considers safety its paramount concern.
One of the drivers in question is a convicted murderer who spent 26 years in prison before being released on parole in Los Angeles in 2008, the complaint says. Gascon said Uber can’t make that claim unless it puts it drivers through the same fingerprinting process required of taxi drivers in California.
The findings were made public in an amendment to a consumer protection lawsuit filed past year by the district attorneys for Los Angeles and San Francisco. Their records included convictions for soliciting murder, attempted murder, sex offenses, drunken driving, child endangerment or abuse, and assault or battery.
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Uber is facing serious allegations.
