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California's attorney general and city attorneys from San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles reached a settlement with Lyft over claims it misclassified drivers as independent contractors from 2016 to 2020, denying them owed wages and benefits. Pending a judge's approval, Lyft will pay $272.5 million, making it the largest wage-and-hour settlement in state history.
Lyft has agreed to pay $272.5 million to settle a May 2020 lawsuit brought by California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleging the company misclassified drivers as contractors instead of employees. Pending court approval, at least $237 million will go toward back pay for minimum wage and benefits owed to drivers who worked between April 2016 and December 2020. Uber, which was named in the same lawsuit, has not yet reached a settlement.
California's attorney general and city attorneys from three cities announced Lyft will pay $272.5 million to settle claims it misclassified drivers as independent contractors instead of employees between 2016 and 2020. The lawsuit originated in May 2020 when then-Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued both Lyft and Uber under Assembly Bill 5; the case against Uber continues separately.
Lyft has agreed to pay $272.5 million to resolve a lawsuit filed in 2020 by the California Labor Commissioner's Office, which accused the company of wrongly classifying drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. The case alleged drivers were denied minimum wage, overtime, sick leave and timely wage payments between April 2016 and December 2020. The settlement still requires court approval, and the Labor Commissioner's Office says it will forgo its share so funds go directly to drivers who filed wage claims.
A Fast Company panel featuring executives from Lyft, All Voting Is Local, and the ACLU discussed how the 2026 midterm elections could reshape federal and state policy in ways that directly affect companies. Moderated by Fast Company's Amy Farley, the discussion focused on how shifting political control could influence trade, immigration, technology, and economic regulation. Panelists also highlighted the growing role of state governments in setting rules on AI, data privacy, climate, and energy.
Lyft has revived its election-season program, first launched in 2014, giving riders across the U.S. access to free or discounted rides to voting locations. The initiative spans from major cities like Manhattan to remote areas such as Alaska.
California's Public Employment Relations Board has officially certified the California Gig Workers Union as the bargaining representative for Uber and Lyft drivers, after at least 30% of active drivers showed support. The certification was enabled by Assembly Bill 1340, which grants independent contractor drivers the right to collectively bargain, making California the third state after Washington and Massachusetts to allow such unionization.
Lyft riders in Nashville can now be matched with a driverless Waymo vehicle through the Lyft app, or book directly through Waymo's own app. Lyft's subsidiary Flexdrive manages fleet readiness, maintenance, depot operations and infrastructure for the partnership, marking the first time Lyft has offered a fully driverless commercial ride without a safety operator behind the wheel.
Bill Lewis, 58, a former Wall Street broker laid off in 2013, invested his entire $180,000 401(k) into a Nestlé Toll House franchise, believing the established brand would guide him through unfamiliar territory as a first-time business owner. Despite strong initial sales growth, high mall operating costs made the store unprofitable, and after four years he was forced to shut it down. Lewis now works up to 75 hours a week driving for Uber and Lyft in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains to rebuild his finances.
Lyft has launched Waymo robotaxi access in Nashville, marking the first city where Waymo vehicles appear on both the Lyft and Waymo apps simultaneously. Riders requesting Standard, Priority Pickup, Wait & Save or Extra Comfort trips may be matched with a driverless Waymo car, provided both pickup and drop-off fall within a designated central Nashville zone covering areas like Downtown, East Nashville and Midtown.
Lyft has begun integrating Waymo's self-driving vehicles into its ride-hail app in Nashville, marking the first time it has partnered with a major autonomous vehicle company rather than smaller AV startups. Instead of removing human drivers entirely, Lyft is shifting some of its Flexdrive rental-service workers into roles cleaning, repairing, and positioning the Waymo vehicles at a depot ahead of an 80,000-square-foot facility opening in October.
Stephanie Mehta's Modern CEO newsletter highlights three chief executives who studied fields outside traditional business tracks, arguing those choices shaped their leadership approaches. Among them, Lyft's CEO says his major helps guard against becoming professionally obsolete.