Uber beginning annual background checks on drivers
Uber implemented a number of new safety measures in Colorado on Monday as part of a proposed settlement with the state’s utilities commission after an investigation found that dozens of the rideshare company’s drivers should have been barred by a background check.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission fined the San Francisco company $8.9 million in November for allowing people with felony criminal convictions or invalid driver’s licenses to shuttle riders across the state.
The commission originally cited 3,570 violations of the laws that regulate rideshare companies, but later dismissed about half the citations and reduced the fine.
But Uber won’t have to pay any of that money if the proposed settlement is accepted at a hearing later this month. Instead, the company has adopted a number of new safety protocols, including annual background checks on its drivers in Colorado, according to a copy of the settlement signed by both parties last month. Previously, the company only completed background checks when a driver first applied and then every five years after.
Uber also created a system that will notify the company if a driver is charged with a crime between the annual background checks. The company also implemented a button in the phone app that will allow riders to connect automatically with 911 and share the rider’s current location to emergency dispatch, a program Uber first started testing in Denver this summer.
According to the settlement, Uber implemented most of the new policies Monday and expects the changes will cost about $2.4 million annually. A provision that will add more specific details about Colorado criminal history to background checks will go into effect April 1. The company’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, announced many of the new features earlier this year.
“We are proud to serve Colorado and will continue to invest in rider and driverpartner safety in the state and beyond,” Uber spokeswoman Stephanie Sedlak said Tuesday in an emailed statement in response to questions from The Denver Post.
The utility commission’s spokesman, Terry Bote, declined to speak about the proposed settlement because it is still pending.
Staff with the utilities commission will audit the new background check process after Uber uses the updated protocol to evaluate 125 drivers, according to the settlement.
The commission’s investigation that resulted in the fines found that 57 drivers in Colorado were working with the company even though they should have been blocked by the background check process. Some drivers had been convicted of felonies or driving under the influence while others had revoked or suspended licenses.
An administrative judge will review the proposed settlement at a hearing on Oct. 29. The judge could approve, reject or modify the agreement. Bote, the utilities spokesman, said he could not speculate on the outcome of the hearing.