The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission may be investigating ride share company Uber for gender discrimination. A report in the Wall Street Journal indicated that investigators from the EEOC have been conducting interviews with current and former Uber employees as well as requesting company documents. Drivers who work for Uber in Arizona may assume companies in the gig economy are different with regard to discrimination, but it’s still a serious problem.
The EEOC has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of an investigation into Uber. It has a policy not to confirm or deny any open investigation. Inquires by the EEOC, generally speaking, do not necessarily lead to a formal charge. Uber said in a statement that it has taken steps to promote gender equality, including overhauling performance reviews, publishing inclusion and diversity reports, developing a market-based salary structure and implementing leadership and diversity training.
The founder and former CEO of Uber left the company in June 2018 following revelations of harassment and sexism there. That same month the chief brand officer of the company left after only one year working there. Uber’s head of human resources resigned in July 2018 after an internal investigation of the handling of racial discrimination claims. A former Uber software engineer has sued the company claiming racial discrimination, unequal pay and sexual harassment. Uber said in August 2018 that it had redesigned its salary structure to ensure that employees are paid equally, taking into account their job, location and tenure.
Individuals who believe they have experienced job discrimination might want to speak with a lawyer who has experience in employment law. The first step might be the filing of a formal complain with the EEOC, if the facts support it.