Risk Management

Uber to pay $4.4M to settle EEOC harassment, retaliation charge

Judy Greenwald

December 18, 2019 Reprints

Regulation More + Less -

Uber Technologies Inc. will establish a $4.4 million fund to compensate anyone whom the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determines experienced sexual harassment and/or related retaliation at the company after Jan. 1, 2014, the agency said Wednesday.

The EEOC said the settlement resolves a 2017 sex discrimination charge and ends an extensive investigation in which the EEOC found reasonable cause to believe Uber permitted a culture of sexual harassment and retaliation against individuals who complained about the harassment, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The EEOC said the pre-litigation agreement was voluntarily entered into by Uber and obtained through the EEOC’s conciliation process.

The EEOC said the company also agreed to create a system for identifying employees who have been the subject of more than one harassment complaint, and managers who fail to respond to sexual harassment concerns in a timely manner, among other provisions of the agreement.

“This resolution demonstrates the benefits of working cooperatively with EEOC and serves as a model for businesses committed to truly leveling the playing field where opportunity is not circumscribed by one’s gender,” EEOC Chair Janet Dhillon said in the statement.

San Francisco-based Uber’s Chief Legal Officer Tony West said in the statement, “We’ve worked hard to ensure that all employees can thrive at Uber by putting fairness and accountability at the heart of who we are and what we do. I am extremely pleased that we were able to work jointly with the EEOC in continuing to strengthen these efforts.”

Uber said earlier this month it received over 3,000 reports of sexual assault related to its 1.3 billion rides in the United States last year, in a report aimed at ensuring drivers and the public it was serious about safety.