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Lyft faces lawsuit over alleged inaction on sexual assault cases

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Lyft faces lawsuit over alleged inaction on sexual assault cases

At least 14 women are suing ride-hailing company Lyft Inc. for its alleged inaction on reports of sexual assault that take place during trips.

In a lawsuit filed Sept. 4 at the Superior Court of San Francisco, the plaintiffs said Lyft has been aware of the alleged sexual misconduct of its drivers since 2015, but its response has been "appallingly inadequate." They said the company does not carry out proper background checks on drivers and that it has failed to adopt and enforce reasonable driver monitoring procedures aimed at protecting the safety of passengers.

According to the complaint, drivers who have been previously reported for sexual assault continue to drive for the ride-hailing service.

The plaintiffs also noted that Lyft drivers are susceptible to sexual abuse themselves, and mentioned that many drivers install cameras in their vehicles from out of their own pockets.

In addition, Lyft has allegedly made a concerted effort to cover up reports of sexual assault committed by its drivers, believing that public knowledge of such cases is bad for business. There is also an alleged lack of cooperation from the company whenever sexual assault cases are reported to law enforcement agencies.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages for past and future medical expenses and costs incurred in the litigation, among other forms of relief. They also want Lyft to adopt additional safety measures such as having a zero-tolerance policy for improper conduct, adding a surveillance camera function on the app, and mandatory reporting of sexual assault cases.

Sought for comment, Lyft Head of Trust & Safety Mary Winfield told S&P Global Market Intelligence that the company does not tolerate harassment or violence in its platform, and "such behavior can and does lead to bans from our service."

She also denied allegations that the company does not screen its driver applicants and said they conduct continuous criminal monitoring.

According to Winfield, Lyft has a new identity verification process in place which combines the driver's license verification and photographic identity verification to prevent identity fraud on its platform. The company will also be making sexual harassment prevention training available to riders and drivers.