Lyft, Uber Background Checks Will Now Begin in January 2017

BOSTON, MA – Massachusetts state officials said Monday that mobile ride-hailing companies Lyft and Uber have voluntarily agreed to implement what the governor's office calls "the most stringent ride-for-hire background check system of any state in the country" starting in January.

The agreements expedite new regulations signed in August by Gov. Charlie Baker, after Uber and Lyft independently agreed to move quicker than the law had originally stipulated. Starting in January, their contract drivers will undergo a full state Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) background check, including confirmation that the driver is not a registered sex offender. Massachusetts still will not require fingerprint background checks, despite law enforcement objections.

The expedited timeline follows numerous stories that surfaced in the past few months, including an Uber driver accused of child rape in Malden and another driver arrested after allegedly sexually assaulting a passenger in Boston.

The agreement was hashed out between the companies and the state Department of Public Utilities. Those checks must start no later than Jan. 6, 2017, for all drivers, and guarantee that every driver in the Commonwealth will have passed the state background check no later than April 3, 2017.

The background checks in the law are the strongest state background check requirements for the mobile ride-hailing companies in the nation, according to the state.

Under the voluntary agreements, background checks will be conducted by the DPU’s newly created Transportation Network Company Division. Drivers employed by Uber and Lyft will undergo the background check, as well as a bi-annual national commercial background check conducted by the companies. Drivers who do not meet the suitability standards set forth in the agreements will not be permitted to operate in Massachusetts.

Image via Flickr/Creative Commons