Uber sued by rider who says driver groped her
Attorney cites ridehailing firm’s ‘toxic culture for women’
A new lawsuit against Uber is retraining the spotlight on what has been a persistent issue for the company: rider-driver safety.
Erica Holland filed suit against Uber on Thursday claiming her driver groped and was verbally abusive to her during a June 9 ride in Los Angeles. Her lawyer, Lisa Bloom, who has represented women in cases against President Trump and Bill Cosby, said she is asking for pain and suffering damages as well as a re-evaluation of Uber’s safety policies.
Uber said in a statement: “What this rider reported is awful. Our Community Guidelines prohibit any sexual conduct and we removed the driver’s access as this matter continues to be reviewed.”
Uber said the driver immediately was blocked from the service after Holland filed a complaint about the ride through the app and that it will cooperate with Los Angeles police if contacted. The driver disputes the events as described by Holland and had recently passed a background check, the company said.
Complaints about drivers date from the early days of the ride service, which essentially turned anyone’s personal car into a chauffeured vehicle. While Uber did checks on its drivers before admitting them onto the platform, they were never as rigorous as those performed by taxi and limousine services. But that seemed to be an inherent risk riders were willing to take in exchange for fast and cheap service, helping Uber explode from a Bay Area start-up into a global brand valued at upwards of $70 billion.
Holland’s suit comes as Uber is reeling from accusations from former female engineer Susan Fowler, who in February described a sexist work environment where women were penalized for reporting harassment. A variety of scandals have led to a big shake-up at Uber that includes the departure of many senior employees, including CEO Travis Kalanick.
“Uber has a toxic culture for women inside the company and for women riders on the road,” Bloom told USA TODAY. “We know from their sexual harassment scandal that their misogyny runs deep and to the top. They claim they’re doing the work to change their company, but if that’s true it should be outwardly focused as well.”
Bloom, the daughter of fabled women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred, said at a press conference that was broadcast from her offices Thursday that she will be asking Uber officials to consider a range of changes aimed at improving rider safety, specifically for women.
These include adding a panic button to the app. Uber said it doesn’t include a panic button because it doesn’t want to add a layer between the rider and a quick call to 911.