Lyft has submitted $19,435,087.06 in payments to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s (NJDOL’s) unemployment, temporary disability, family leave insurance trust funds, and workforce development funds, due to a high volume of worker misclassification.

When a worker is misclassified as an independent contractor instead of an employee, they lose rights which they are entitled to as employees, including minimum wage, overtime pay, workers’ compensation coverage, unemployment insurance, earned sick leave, family leave, and more.

An audit found that the ride-share company improperly classified over 100,000 drivers as independent contractors, depriving them of crucial safety-net benefits by failing to make required contributions from 2014 to 2017. The audit was triggered when Lyft drivers filed for unemployment insurance (UI) and disability benefits, revealing that Lyft had not made contributions to the state funds on their behalf.

By misclassifying the drivers, Lyft impeded their access to essential benefits and protections. Lyft initially paid $10.8 million assessed for contributions to stop the running of interest, while continuing to contest the Department’s assessment. Just before an initial hearing date, Lyft withdrew its request for a hearing and paid the remaining balance.