Lyft Didn’t Honor $1,000 Bonuses, Class Action Says

Lyft, Inc. was hit with a class action lawsuit by employees, alleging that the company owes them $1,000 in bonuses from a new-driver program set up to bring in more drivers.

Plaintiffs Casey Loewen and Jonathan Wright filed this Lyft class action lawsuit, claiming that the ride-sharing company did not honor its contract with drivers who participated in a promotion to add more drivers to its roster because it did not process applications fast enough.

Lyft is a ride sharing company that customers can take advantage of through a cellphone based app. If a Lyft user wants to find a ride somewhere through the ride-sharing company all he or she has to do is provide the address where they want to be picked up and where they want to arrive. At that point, the app shows a picture of the driver who accepts his or her request as well as the car and license plate. When the car shows up, it has Lyft’s signature pink mustache that identifies it as a Lyft vehicle.

“In order to become a Lyft driver, applicants need to fill out an application, take a ‘welcome ride,’ and pass a background check, in that order,” the Lyft class action lawsuit explains.

Lyft launched a program to add drivers through “two $1,000 new driver referral programs on or about Feb. 25, 2015.” These programs were available in several major cities across the country.

One of the programs was called the “‘$1,000 Double-Sided Referral Bonus’ program, whereby current Lyft drivers could refer new drivers, and both the referring driver and the new driver would each receive $1,000.”

To qualify, drivers were required to submit an application by Feb. 25,  “enter his or her referrer’s code on signup, and complete their first ride on or before Thursday, March 5.”

This promotion was advertised via email and on its website, the Lyft class action lawsuit explains. The email explained that it can take a couple days to process the new driver’s background check.

The other new driver program was a “$1,000 Sign-On Bonus,” in which new drivers could sign up without a referral from a current driver. To qualify, it also required new drivers to “apply on or after midnight on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015, enter the code BENJAMINS on signup, and complete their first ride on or before Thursday, March 5.”

According to the Lyft class action lawsuit, the “promotions were very popular, and resulted in thousands of new driver applications being filed in the first 24 hours of the promotions being offered.”

In fact, there were so many applications filed in Los Angeles that Lyft changed sent an email just two days later on Feb. 27, saying that no more bonuses were being offered for new drivers there. However, it also said that new applications “filed ‘before 12 p.m. (3 p.m. EST) today, they’re still eligible for the $1,000 bonus.’ if their ‘first ride is completed by March 5.'”

Lyft sent out emails like that one in other cities as well.

However, the offer allegedly broke-down because Lyft failed to process the background checks in a timely matter, which made “it impossible for new drivers to give their first ride before March 5,” causing new and current drivers to miss out on the $1,000 bonus.

Loewen is a current Lyft driver in San Diego and Wright was a new applicant. Loewen had referred a new driver, Lauren Turton. However, Turton’s background check wasn’t approved until March 9. Loewen received an email on March 8, saying that since Turton’s first ride wasn’t completed by March 5, she didn’t qualify for the $1,000 bonus. The same thing happened to Wright, according to the Lyft class action lawsuit.

Loewen and Wright are looking to represent a subclass for current drivers and new drivers who tried to participate in these Lyft promotions but failed to receive the bonus because their background checks were not completed by March 5.

Lyft is being charged with breach of contract and fraud.

Plaintiffs are represented by R. Rex Parris, Alexander R. Wheeler, Kitty Szeto and John M. Bickford of R. Rex Parris Law Firm, and Daniel A. Carpio and Michael B. Turner of Dunn & Associates.

Counsel information for Lyft wasn’t immediately available.

The Lyft Class Action Lawsuit is Casey Loewen et al. v. Lyft Inc. et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-01159, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: The Lyft Bonus class action lawsuit was dismissed on January 28, 2016.  Please keep checking Top Class Actions for updates.  We will let our viewers know if any new class action cases are filed.