Lyft’s historic wage theft settlement fixes the past but ignores the future

In early October, California state and city authorities reached a landmark settlement with the rideshare company Lyft over the state’s allegations that the company misclassified its drivers as independent contractors instead of employees, denying them wages and benefits they would have otherwise been owed between 2016 and 2020. If a judge approves the settlement—involving the state attorney general, Rob Bonta, and attorneys for San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles—the company will pay $272.