Justice Department sues Lyft for $53 million over disability bias

The Justice Department sued Lyft on Monday, alleging that the ride-hailing company and its drivers routinely turn away passengers with disabilities, and seeking $53 million for riders who complained to Lyft or the government, the department said.

The case makes Lyft the second major ride-hailing company the department has taken to court over the Americans with Disabilities Act. Last year the government sued Uber over similar conduct and sought $125 million in damages, The New York Times reported. Lyft said last week that it expects to pass one billion rides this year.

The department said Lyft provides an important transportation option for millions of people across the country. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accuses Lyft of violating Title III of the ADA, which bars private transportation companies from discriminating on the basis of disability. The law requires Lyft to carry riders with service animals and to give rides to, and help, riders who use stowable wheelchairs and other mobility devices.

The complaint lays out three kinds of alleged conduct. It says drivers routinely refuse service to riders with disabilities, including people with service dogs or folding wheelchairs. It says Lyft charges cancellation fees and other surcharges to riders it has unlawfully turned away. And it says the company refuses to adjust its policies where needed, including by denying riders with mobility disabilities the option to sit in the front seat. The department said the denials affected hundreds and likely thousands of people.

The government also faults Lyft's training. According to the Times, the department accused the company of failing to change its practices to prevent the discrimination and of failing to properly train drivers and customer service staff on their obligations under federal law.

"Individuals with disabilities should be able to rely on rideshare services free of discrimination," said Jesus A. Osete, the acting assistant attorney general who leads the department's Civil Rights Division. U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian of the Northern District of California tied the case to the earlier one against Uber and said prosecutors would devote all the resources needed.

Beyond the $53 million in damages, the suit asks a judge to order Lyft to stop the alleged discrimination, rewrite its policies to comply with the ADA and train its staff and drivers on the law. It also asks the court to impose a civil penalty. The department noted that under the ADA a service animal is a dog trained to perform a task tied to a person's disability, and that emotional support dogs do not qualify.

Lyft rejected the allegations. "Discrimination has no place in the Lyft community," the company said in a statement. It said it has long required drivers to accommodate riders who travel with service animals or use foldable mobility devices, that drivers who break those rules face penalties up to permanent deactivation, and that it cooperated with the department throughout its review.

The company has faced the issue before. In 2020, Lyft resolved allegations that its drivers refused service to people who used wheelchairs or walkers. It agreed to revise its policies and to pay four passengers thousands of dollars in damages, along with a $40,000 civil penalty, the Times reported. Uber has said it disagrees with the allegations in the government's case against it.

Lyft, founded in 2012, has grown into one of the dominant ride-hailing companies in the U.S., alongside an Uber that keeps adding services such as in-app parking. The Lyft case now moves forward in federal court in Northern California, where the government will ask a judge for damages, a civil penalty and court-ordered changes to how the company serves riders with disabilities. More court coverage is in the Law Sector.