The GigReporter

Bloomberg reports[1] that the rideshare giant Uber Technologies, Inc. will increase the strictness of its criminal disqualification policies in response to passenger safety lawsuits. While Uber’s leadership might consider this a necessary move, it may put the company on worse footing for future independent contractor classification litigation.

Passenger safety concerns have dogged Uber for years; the company is facing thousands of lawsuits nationwide from passengers alleging sexual harassment or sexual assault from Uber drivers. It lost one of these cases for the first time earlier this year, getting hit with an $8.5 million verdict from an Arizona jury in February. In response, Uber will tighten its background check policies on American drivers so that additional categories of convictions, including stalking, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, will bar people from driving for the company regardless of when the conviction occurred, as opposed to the seven-year lookback period that was previously used. (Murder, kidnapping, and sexual offenses were already subject to a lifetime rule.) Uber claims these changes will reduce its US workforce by approximately half a percentage point.

This step is a calculated risk on Uber’s part, since stricter background checks will weigh against it in future employee/independent contractor classification disputes. The company might consider that the toughest fights in that arena are already behind it, with Proposition 22 in California and the 2023 unemployment insurance settlement agreement in New York locking in independent status for Uber drivers in those states, so that those risks are outweighed by the benefits of reducing assault and harassment claims from passengers, and the public relations boost of taking a stronger stand on safety.

Uber’s move is also in line with broader trends after the Supreme Court in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II allowed negligent hiring cases against motor carriers to move forward.  The decisions impact on delivery companies should result in greater scrutiny of delivery drivers’ background checks to mitigate risk of broker liability. SCI’s platform has always provided the sort of visibility into individual drivers, as well as those engaged through a master contractors, and has partnered with Confirm Choice for easy and affordable background checks.

[1] “Uber Tightens US Driver Background Checks as Sexual Assault Cases Mount”, Natalie Lung, June 26, 2026, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-26/uber-tightens-us-driver-background-checks-as-sexual-assault-cases-mount