A proposed class action complaint was filed against Uber on behalf of a former Uber driver in San Diego. The driver’s complaint states that Uber’s star rating system used by its riders harms minority or accent speaking drivers more than white or non-accent speaking drivers.
The proposed class is made up of all minority drivers for the company who have received poor star ratings and were terminated from the company’s app. The plaintiff alleges that customer ratings are often biased and is seeking to stop the usage and practice of star ratings as a reason for termination.
The case is Thomas Liu v. Uber Technologies, Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Case No. 3:20-cv-07499.
This blog is intended to provide information to the general public and to practitioners about developments that may impact Oregon class actions.
Last week, motel chain Motel 6 announced it had settled a class action brought on behalf of Latino motel guests who claimed that Motel 6 unlawfully disclosed their personal information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) agents. The suit was originally filed in January 2018, in Arizona federal court, by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. 
Oregon federal district judge Michael Simon denied a motion to dismiss an Oregon class action lawsuit that alleges Airbnb allows discrimination against black users. The lawsuit contends the vacation rental website, which connects homeowners with travelers looking to rent a room, allows the homeowners to discriminate by requiring would-be guests to register with their full name and a photograph. Since the lawsuit was filed, the company changed the policy to only allow homeowners to see the photographs after the unit has been rented.