Uber drops arbitration for sexual assault victims

Uber will no longer force passengers who accuse drivers of sexual assault or harassment into arbitration, a company official told CNN. 

Instead, the ride-sharing company will allow victims — including passengers, drivers and employees — to choose the venue in which they want to resolve such claims. 

“We think it is very, very important to allow survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment the control and agency that was, frankly, stripped from them in that incident,” Tony West, Uber’s chief legal officer, told CNN.

{mosads}

“I want to thank [CNN] for the reporting that you’ve done on this issue,” West added. 

Under its terms of service, Uber previously required individuals who brought sexual assault and harassment allegations to go into arbitration – a controversial practice, because it deprives victims of the opportunity to bring their cases to trial.

The forced arbitration allowed Uber to keep such allegations under wraps.

But a CNN investigation found at least 103 Uber drivers in the U.S. who had been accused of sexual assault or harassment by passengers over the past four years.

The ride-sharing company also told CNN that it planned to publish a “safety transparency report” that will tally the number of sexual assaults or other incidents related to its service. 

The company also said it would stop requiring confidentiality as part of settlements in sexual assault and harassment lawsuits, CNN reported.