The lockout loophole

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Oct. 11, 2024

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Read the story This past summer, Uber and Lyft drivers in New York City began to find themselves locked out of apps they use to connect with customers. It would happen without warning and last anywhere from minutes to hours, drivers told Bloomberg. As a result, they've had to work longer and harder just to maintain a living wage. The lockouts are a money-saving loophole Uber and Lyft have used to get around a local law requiring drivers be paid for the time they are working between trips. Instead, the companies simply prevented drivers from logging into the apps. Uber and Lyft have said they were locking out drivers only during periods of low demand. But the practice has been more pervasive, widespread and financially damaging for drivers, a Bloomberg investigation found. By making drivers seem busier on paper, the companies set themselves up to save hundreds of millions of dollars in driver payouts, according to Bloomberg estimates. Read The Big Take.

Listen to the podcast Will we find out who the next US president is on election night? The new normal could look more like 2020, when Americans had to wait days for the final call. Bloomberg's Gregory Korte joins Big Take DC host Saleha Mohsin to break down what's changed since President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump four years ago, and what could happen if a drawn-out election call stokes uncertainty in the electoral process. Subscribe and listen on iHeart, Apple and Spotify.

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