Minimum Pay For Lyft, Uber Drivers Allowed To Continue

NEW YORK — Lyft lost a court battle against New York City on Monday as a judge declined to block a minimum pay mandate for app-based drivers.

The Manhattan Supreme Court judge denied the ride-hailing firm's request to halt the implementation of landmark rules that established the pay floor, the city's Law Department said. The court indicated a decision in the case would come within 30 days, the department said.

"The City stands by these rules which are legally sound and protect more than 80,000 hardworking FHV drivers," a Law Department spokesman said in an email.

Lyft and Juno, another ride-hail company, challenged the Taxi and Limousine Commission rules requiring app-based drivers to earn at least $17.22 an hour after expenses in separate lawsuits in January. Lyft argued the rules would advantage Uber, the industry's dominant player, while harming drivers and smaller companies.

"We support the New York City Council’s minimum earnings goal, but oppose the TLC's specific rules because they actually hurt earning opportunities for drivers, and provide advantages to certain companies over others," Lyft spokeswoman Campbell Matthews said in a statement.

Lyft published a blog post on Saturday featuring quotes from drivers who say they have seen their rides and earnings drop as prices have increased under the rules, which took effect Feb. 1. "Demand has been severely impacted, and now I am averaging close to 30$ less a day for even more work," one says.

But the city argues the rules are necessary to help drivers earn a living wage and push ride-hail companies to use them more efficiently. Lawyers representing the TLC also accused Lyft in a court filing of waiting "until the eleventh hour" to challenge the rules.

The Independent Drivers Guild, a labor group for app-based drivers that campaigned for a pay floor, praised the court for declining to halt the rules.

"We are finally making more than we have in years thanks to the new pay rules, but Lyft wants to bring it back to the way it was before, poverty wages," Tina Raveneau, a guild member and Lyft driver, said in a statement.

The court fight comes as Lyft reportedly prepares for an initial public offering. Juno, on the other hand, moved to discontinue its lawsuit against the city last week.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the last name of the Lyft spokeswoman. It is Matthews, not Brown.