Pennsylvania drivers will receive a portion of a $100 million national settlement with Walmart.
Secured by the Federal Trade Commission and a handful of attorneys general, the settlement resolves allegations that Walmart deceived drivers who participated in its Spark Driver Program.
Walmart will pay Pennsylvania drivers about $1.4 million that may have been lost due to the alleged deceit, officials say.
“Walmart was aware almost immediately of issues with the program, and drivers being paid less than face value, yet did nothing to remedy the situation,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Sunday said. “Time and time again, Spark drivers did not receive tips they were entitled to — this settlement goes a long way to making those harmed Pennsylvanians whole.”
According to Sunday’s office, the Spark Driver Program launched in 2018, allowing customers to order Walmart products for home delivery. People signed up to be drivers, and more than 1 million drivers nationwide made more than 272 million deliveries.
Authorities claim Walmart misrepresented pre-tip amounts, base pay and incentive pay for drivers. While Walmart showed one offer to the driver, it would allegedly split or change parts of the order after the driver accepted, causing them to be paid less than advertised.
Additionally, authorities claim Walmart failed to pay drivers for completing incentives by not revealing the full incentive requirements, and it allegedly deceived customers into thinking 100% of tips would go to drivers when that wasn’t always the case.
As part of the judgment, Walmart was made to pay up to $79 million directly to drivers. It’s also paying $11 million to 11 states and $10 million to the FTC for customer refunds.
Also, Walmart must run an earnings verification program and provide an annual report for the next 10 years to make sure drivers are paid what they’re promised, officials say. The company is forbidden from editing orders after a driver accepts them or misrepresenting how much a driver will earn.
Click here to read the full settlement.
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