In a ruling by an administrative law judge over claims by the California Public Utilities Commission that Uber had refused to provide necessary information to regulators, Uber is being fined $7.3 million and could be suspended in California, pending an inevitable appeal. As the AP and the LA Times report, Judge Karen V. Clopton is recommending Uber's license to operate in California be suspended for 30 days because they reportedly refused to give CPUC necessary information about their "business practices, including accident details and how accessible vehicles are to disabled riders."
Uber claims that the information requested might "compromise the privacy of individual riders as well as driver-partners," and in a statement they call the decision "deeply disappointing." Uber is, of course, going to appeal the decision before the suspension would begin, which would be 30 days from now.
The ruling highlights Uber's ongoing struggle to fit into the established mold of the taxi industry, and all its incumbent regulations.
This ruling is entirely separate from a pending case in federal court over Uber's classification of drivers as independent contractors, which we mentioned earlier today has the potential to cost the company $209 million in California alone, let alone the repercussions in other states.
And this is the third bad-news story for Uber to come up today, following that and the undisclosed wrongful death settlement with the family of Sofia Liu, which further suggests Uber's liability for their drivers as employees.
