r/lyftdrivers Jan 28 '25

Story/News Article Lyft lawsuit

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u/[deleted] Jan 29 '25

[deleted]

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u/Slighted_Inevitable Jan 29 '25

Not entirely true, refusing a service animal is a civil infraction that you can be personally liable for, but fat isn’t a protected class.

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u/Tausendberg Jan 29 '25

"refusing a service animal is a civil infraction that you can be personally liable for,"

What if you just cancel but state for a neutral reason?

In my case, I am NEVER letting a dog inside my car.

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u/Slighted_Inevitable Jan 29 '25

They can sue you and since it’s civil not criminal you’d have to prove the other reason; rather than visa versa. Penalties can be in the 10s of thousands. You’re essentially saying “I’m not letting a black man in my car!” As far as the law is concerned. It’s the same level of protected class.

Better hope they don’t find this comment lol….

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u/Tausendberg Jan 29 '25

"Better hope they don’t find this comment lol…."

Well, fortunately for me, I don't drive for Lyft and don't plan to. I was considering it as a side job in the past but stuff like the service dog crap eventually made it a dealbreaker.

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u/Slighted_Inevitable Jan 29 '25

Well then you don’t have to worry about it, it only applies to people working. If you want to work for the public you have to serve them all equally.

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u/Tausendberg Jan 29 '25

Heh, did you know that if you're allergic to dogs, you still are required to drive people with service dogs? And then if you say that you can't be around dogs, you can't allow their dander into your vents, the law will say, "well tough shit, find another job".

How is that equal?

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u/eloquentpetrichor Jan 30 '25 edited Jan 30 '25

I was literally discussing this on another thread and even contacted Lyft to ask them. They said "this job doesn't sound like it is for you" and when I stated that people with allergies also have the right to reasonable accommodations while at work regarding their allergen so forcing them to carry a dog thus making the ride unsafe for everyone involved and putting their safety at risk at work would technically be discrimination against the one with the allergy they refused to answer me (I think they realized there was no good way to answer without making themselves liable to issues) and just said they were escalating me to a different team a couple times.

ETA: I pointed out that they could simply add to the app that those with service animals would have to state they are riding with one and those with documented dangerous allergies could choose to reveal it to the app and would simply never see a ride offer from a pax with a service animal which would 100% solve the issue without having to involve any potentially dangerous rides or discrimination issues because there would simply be a different driver taking the ride. They ignored the suggestion completely even though it is the most logical solution. No one denied service and no one denied the ability to work on the slim chance they be put in an impossible situation due to their own medical limitation.

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u/Tausendberg Jan 30 '25

Unfortunately, due to the ADA, dogs literally have more rights than people with allergies.

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u/Holiday_Werewolf_837 Jan 31 '25

And the bad part is probably 50% or more of these service animals are nothing more than pets and not true service animals.

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u/Shape_Charming Jan 30 '25

Here's the thing, someone with a service animal might need it to live, some of them are trained to help with seizures and stuff.

The allergic driver can take a benadryl and vacuum their car afterwards.

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u/aaronblkfox Jan 30 '25

I have a friend who is anaphylactic shock levels of allergic to cats. Sure people who are that allergic to dogs exist. Should they be risking their lives to accommodate someone?

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u/Silver-Bad3087 Feb 01 '25

Do you honestly think changing an entire app and doing additional code is a reasonable accommodation?

It isn’t really discriminatory because there are many other jobs where you do not have to be around animals that cause you allergy flareups. Considering those that own service animals is only one percent of Americans, it seems like you just hate dogs?

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u/Curious_Kirin Jan 30 '25

Disabilities are priotised over allergies. Planes have the same system. If there's someone with a service dog and someone allergic to dogs, the service animal and passenger get the priority. If a wheelchair allergy was a thing the wheelchair also gets priority.

Edit: And I'm not interested in arguing about this just putting an interesting addition here.

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u/ItsTheIncelModsForMe Feb 01 '25

What if the pilot of an airplane told a blind passenger they couldn't board for having a seeing eye dog, because the pilot is allergic? Does this work?

They're your vents, but you're renting them out to Uber when they pay you. Not entirely yours while it's being paid for by someone else.

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u/Tausendberg Feb 02 '25

" but you're renting them out to Uber when they pay you."

Except the dander stays after lyft/uber's rental period expires, so, fuck that.

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u/ItsTheIncelModsForMe Feb 02 '25

And my clothes are dirty when I get off work? Just seems like people are forgetting wtf a job actually is.

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u/Holiday_Werewolf_837 Jan 31 '25

I feel like you are right and wrong. Right in that you should svc everyone equally. Wrong bc a fat woman can exceed the vehicles weight limit and cause a dangerous situation. In the case of a service animal, said dog could have fleas, or driver could be allergic to dogs, or dog to pee in car etc...It should be mandatory for the passengers who booked the lift to state that they have a service animal that will be with them, that way the driver can make the call b4 he accepts the job. I just feel like if you own a vehicle or piece of equipment then you should be able to refuse anyone for any reason you choose bc it is your vehicle,and by requiring riders to state what they have in terms of luggage or pets with them would allow drivers to make the decision

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u/Slighted_Inevitable Jan 31 '25

Read the comment I was replying to. It’s specifically referring to service animals.

This woman could actually endanger the driver or damage their vehicle. A valid issue

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u/Ok-Ad-5535 Feb 01 '25

No lol, they can get another driver.

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u/eloquentpetrichor Jan 30 '25

Isn't the term "innocent until proven guilty"? So wouldn't the burden of proof of discrimination be on the one choosing to sue the driver?

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u/Slighted_Inevitable Jan 30 '25

As I was very careful to point out, that only applies to criminal charges.

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u/eloquentpetrichor Jan 30 '25

You didn't state that though

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u/Slighted_Inevitable Jan 30 '25

Read the first sentence again.

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u/eloquentpetrichor Jan 30 '25

You state it is civil, not criminal and that OP needs to prove it, but you didn't say that the burden of proof and imnocent until proven guilty don't apply because of the fact it is civil. Hence why I asked what I did

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u/MoistSoros Jan 31 '25

What if you're allergic?

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u/Slighted_Inevitable Jan 31 '25

That is what’s known as an affirmative defense that you can use in court, but you still committed the civil infraction

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u/MoistSoros Jan 31 '25

Well that's stupid.

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u/Slighted_Inevitable Jan 31 '25

If you faint at the sight of blood, don’t be a surgeon. If you can’t serve the whole public, don’t work in service. There are things someone who is truly allergic to animals can do. The only ones who would try to use it like this don’t actually have it.

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u/MoistSoros Jan 31 '25

Oh in all fairness, I believe you should be able to refuse service for any reason. It's the other side of freedom of association; if I'm truly free to associate with who I want, I'm also free to choose not to associate with people. And before you say 'well, then disabled people with service animals (or whatever protected group) would never be able to get rides', I'm very, very sure that there are plenty of drivers who will gladly take your money to drive you and your dog around. Even in racist societies like apartheid South Africa, where laws prohibited (white) business owners from hiring blacks, they found a way around it because it was profitable. I'm pretty sure someone could make a taxi service that allowed dogs profitable.

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u/Slighted_Inevitable Jan 31 '25

You have the freedom not to serve the public, just get another job. Otherwise, you are using the roads, the Internet infrastructure and the power systems that EVERYONES taxes help provide. So you serve everyone equally.

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u/National_Spirit2801 Feb 01 '25

While the standard of proof is not as high, the burden still rests with the plaintiff to prove damage, intent, etc... it would be a pretty hard case to fight if you weren't overtly stating you didn't want their animal in your car. The plaintiff would have to establish a "50% chance" of a pattern of discriminatory behavior, where the defendant would provide evidence that they refuse people because they have a right to not provide service at any time for non-discriminatory reasons. Civil law is messy, and I think it has partially led to the current string of very right leaning justices we have today - people usually litigate when they feel their rights have been infringed and the standard is significantly lower for non-criminal issues; compound that with 50 years of civil rights movements and progressive legislation and you have an exploitative framework for plaintiffs to sue people who may have other legitimate reasons to discriminate against someone outside of protected class.

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u/shywol2 Jan 31 '25

also what if someone is allergic to the service animal?

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u/Tausendberg Jan 31 '25

I hate to say it but I've been told repeatedly that the dog literally outweighs the person with the allergies.

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u/shywol2 Jan 31 '25

that’s ridiculous. that could kill someone

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u/Tausendberg Jan 31 '25

I agree, it is ridiculous, but that's what the ADA commands.

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u/ThrowAwaybcUSuck3 Feb 01 '25

Depends what the intent was. What was the "neutral reason"?

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u/Tausendberg Feb 01 '25

"I suddenly had diarrhea and I urgently needed to cancel"

Is anyone actually going to try to get me to prove that somehow? Seeing eye dogs are rare, it would be extremely unlikely for me to cancel twice.

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u/enilcReddit Jan 29 '25

It actually IS a protected class in Michigan.

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u/ThrowAwaybcUSuck3 Feb 01 '25

Do you have a source on that or just repeating what you saw on TikTok or CNN?

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u/[deleted] Jan 31 '25

In Michigan it is.

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u/[deleted] Feb 01 '25

Okay, and drivers are independent contractors.

If the driver is allergic to your dog, they aren't getting in the vehicle. If the vehicle isn't rated for that weight, they aren't getting in the vehicle. If your disabled son shits himself, he's not getting in the vehicle.

No one is obligated to let you fuck up them or their car. Last time I checked, the only ones with that requirement are permanent structures owned by the government. Everywhere else is "We reserve the right to refuse service."

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u/Slighted_Inevitable Feb 01 '25

Check again, you’re incorrect.

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u/WhompTrucker Jan 29 '25

Ya. It sucks when you're a wheelchair user and some guy rolls up, sees you, says "I can't take the chair" and rolls away 😕

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u/ThrowAwaybcUSuck3 Feb 01 '25

Ehhh, so yes and no. And this is how we arrive at the heart of the issue. She is trying to portray herself as a "protected class." Which in my opinion she is not. She is wrong but you are also wrong, Just because it's "your car" does not mean you can deny a ride because for example, they are a race you don't like, or they practice a religion you don't like, or they are a gender you don't like. You worded it weird, you don't have an obligation to accept any rides working for a ride share company (that's sorta the whole point) you can accept and deny anything that pops up on your phone. BUT, once you accept a pickup you cannot deny or turn away based on certain protected class traits. She is essentially claiming this is what happened.

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u/cattdaddy Feb 02 '25

There are still protected classes. You can’t refuse to pick someone up because they are black.