More than 500 women across the United States have joined a lawsuit against Uber, claiming they were sexually assaulted by Uber drivers and that the company knew about the sexual misconduct of some of its employees.
The complaint, filed Wednesday in San Francisco, alleges that women were “kidnapped, sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harassed or otherwise attacked” after getting into cars driven by the ride-sharing company’s employees.
“While the company has acknowledged this crisis of sexual assault in recent years, its actual response has been slow and inadequate, with horrific consequences,” said Adam Slater, a partner at Slater Slater Schulman, the law firm that filed the suit.
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“There is so much more that Uber can be doing to protect riders: adding cameras to deter assaults, performing more robust background checks on drivers, creating a warning system when drivers don’t stay on a path to a destination.”
The filing, in San Francisco County Superior Court, comes nearly two weeks after the company released its second safety report, saying sexual assault reported on the platform was down.
The suit included claims from women who said:
· In February 2022, an Uber driver sexually assaulted and attempted to rape a woman who was a passenger in his vehicle in Chino Hills, California.
· In November 2021, an Uber driver fondled and raped a passenger in Perris, California.
· In August 2021, an Uber driver convinced a woman passenger to sit in the front seat of his vehicle, where he forcefully kissed her and sexually assaulted her.
· In October 2021, an Uber driver attempted to rape a woman outside Pittsburgh, rather than take her safely to her destination.
· Also in October 2021, an Uber driver attempted to rape a woman passenger in Boston.
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