In the Uber Terms of Service Agreement (which drivers must accept in order to drive) there is a provision that requires a driver to opt-out of arbitration if that driver would like to retain the right to settle any future disputes with the company in court by filing an individual lawsuit or joining a class action law suit. Drivers who do not opt-out are required to settle disputes outside of court with a third party arbiter. It is important for drivers to understand that in order to maintain the right to sue the company, each individual driver must make the choice to opt-out of arbitration and must do-so within 30 days of agreeing to the Uber Terms of Service (which are updated and revised occasionally). Here is a sample of the arbitration language in Uber's November 25th, 2019 Update:

Arbitration Provision.
IMPORTANT: PLEASE REVIEW THIS ARBITRATION PROVISION CAREFULLY, AS IT WILL REQUIRE YOU TO RESOLVE DISPUTES WITH THE COMPANY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS THROUGH FINAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION, EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BELOW. YOU MAY CHOOSE TO OPT OUT OF THIS ARBITRATION PROVISION BY FOLLOWING THE BELOW INSTRUCTIONS. THERE ARE AND/OR MAY BE LAWSUITS ALLEGING CLASS, COLLECTIVE OR REPRESENTATIVE CLAIMS ON YOUR BEHALF AGAINST THE COMPANY. IF YOU DO NOT OPT OUT OF THIS ARBITRATION PROVISION AND THEREFORE AGREE TO ARBITRATION WITH THE COMPANY, YOU ARE AGREEING IN ADVANCE, EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED BELOW, THAT YOU WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN AND, THEREFORE, WILL NOT SEEK OR BE ELIGIBLE TO RECOVER MONETARY OR OTHER RELIEF IN CONNECTION WITH, ANY SUCH CLASS, COLLECTIVE OR REPRESENTATIVE LAWSUIT. THIS ARBITRATION PROVISION, HOWEVER, WILL ALLOW YOU TO BRING INDIVIDUAL CLAIMS IN ARBITRATION ON YOUR OWN BEHALF.

How do I opt-out?

You can opt-out by emailing optout@uber.com and including the following in your email:

• A statement making clear your intent to opt out of this Arbitration Provision
• Your full name
• The phone number associated with your Uber account
• The email address associated with your Uber account
• The city/state in which you reside

*The email must come from the email address associated with your Uber account.

For more details about Uber's option to opt-out of forced arbitration, please visit a detailed overview provided by The Rideshare Guru.  If you would like to speak to a CIDU organizer about the process, have questions, or need advice on whether "opting-out" is right for you, feel out the CIDU contact form on our CONTACT page and we will be in touch.

Author: CIDU News
Published on: 2020-09-14, 3:59 PM UTC