Uber accused of hiring murderers, kidnappers and child molesters

These Uber drivers nonetheless passed Uber’s background check, according to an amended complaint filed jointly by the San Francisco and Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office against the San Francisco-based ride service company on Tuesday.

One driver was convicted of second-degree homicide in 1982, utilized beneath a unique identify, and in 2014, lower than seven years after his launch from jail, turned an Uber driver, in response to the grievance. The regulations are similar to what’s already in place for taxicab companies, but in most cases the ride-hailing companies are tasked with policing their own drivers while the city-parish government oversees background checks and vehicle inspections for taxi operations.

San Francisco DA George Gascón says this is “really only scratching the surface”. “Innovation, nevertheless, doesn’t give corporations a license to mislead shoppers about points affecting their security”.

They accuse Uber of being misleading when it comes to claims they do background checks, and thorough ones, on all their drivers.

“In a successful effort to do so, Uber makes a number of representations on its webpages, in communications with customers, and in the media designed to create the impression that Uber does everything it can to ensure its customers’ safety”.

California prosecutors claim the ride sharing company allows people with major criminal history to drive for them.

The Uber driver worked for the ridesharing service in Los Angeles until May 28, 2015 and provided 1,168 rides to consumers, according to the complaint.

But California isn’t the only state that is experiencing fallout from the shortcomings of the Uber driver background check process.

Uber told Daily News reporters Nolan Hicks and Dan Rivoli that its fastest growing areas are outside of Manhattan, areas that are underserved by yellow cabs.

In December, an Uber driver in India was accused of beating and raping a passenger, prompting officials to ban the service in the country’s capital of New Delhi. The DAs discovered these drivers while doing research for their lawsuit against Uber over the way it markets its background check practices.

Uber has noted that Live Scan, another method of vetting drivers favored by numerous company’s critics, is not subject to seven year limits.

Last month a furious crowd attacked the company’s drivers and battered their vehicles with rocks in Mexico City. It has, for instance, changed the description for its background checks as “industry-leading” to “Background checks you can trust”, the complaint said. Members also could formally ask state regulators to add a fingerprint requirement for all for-hire drivers in California. Taxi companies, however, rely on fingerprint tests, making it possible to pull drivers’ entire criminal history.