This arbitrator rebuffed the company’s position that it
wasn’t liable for drivers’ behavior given their status as contractors,
according to news website Insider.
San Francisco Bay Area resident Lisa Irving, who is blind
and uses a guide dog, made a claim against Uber in 2018, maintaining that “she
was either denied a ride altogether or harassed by Uber drivers not wanting to
transport her with her guide dog”. As a result, Irving was left stranded late
at night, which made her late to work – and led to her eventual firing.
Twice, Irving claimed, drivers bullied and verbally abused
her. Drivers’ discriminatory behavior continued despite her complaining to
Uber, she said.
“Of all Americans who should be liberated by the rideshare
revolution, the blind and visually impaired are among those who stand to
benefit the most,” one of Irving’s lawyers, Catherine Cabalo, said in a
statement to Insider.
“However, the track record of major rideshare services has
been spotty at best and openly discriminatory at worst,”the statement added.
“The bottom line is that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a guide dog
should be able to go anywhere that a blind person can go.”
Uber reportedly said it vehemently disagreed with this
arbitrator’s decision.
“We are proud Uber’s technology has helped people who are
blind locate and obtain rides. Drivers using the Uber app are expected to serve
riders with service animals and comply with accessibility and other laws, and
we regularly provide education to drivers on that responsibility. Our dedicated
team looks into each complaint and takes appropriate action,” an Uber
spokesperson said in a statement to the Guardian.
The arbitrator determined that Uber staffers who looked into
discrimination allegations were trained “to coach drivers to find
non-discriminatory reasons for ride denials…[and] ‘advocate’ to keep drivers on
the platform despite discrimination complaints.”
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits transportation
businesses which are governed by this law to deny transporting persons with
guide dogs.
The arbitrator determined that Uber was responsible for ADA
violations given its “contractual supervision over its drivers and for its
failure to prevent discrimination by properly training its workers”, the news
website said.
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