Weekly Roundup: California Ballot Initiative Aims to Require Annual Fingerprinting, Additional Background Checks for Rideshare Drivers

California ballot initiative would require annual fingerprinting and additional background checks. Male drivers sue Uber and Lyft claiming discrimination over women-only safety features. Congressional pressure mounts on Uber as company faces 3,000+ lawsuits from sexual assault survivors. Lyft CEO David Risher talks about customer obsession and operational excellence. DoorDash sees another revenue chief exit after less than six months. We break it all down for you.

California Ballot Initiative Aims to Require Annual Fingerprinting, Additional Background Checks for Rideshare Drivers

Source: CBS 8

A proposed statewide ballot measure in California would classify rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft as “common carriers,” placing them in the same legal category as taxis, buses, and trains. The initiative, which must gather 546,651 valid signatures by July 2026 to qualify for the November ballot, would require annual fingerprinting and background checks for drivers and mandate public reporting of sexual misconduct complaints.

• Under the proposed law, rideshare companies would be held to a “heightened standard of care” for passengers and made legally responsible for driver misconduct, regardless of independent contractor status.

• The Consumer Attorneys of California, backing the initiative, has raised more than $50 million for this and related ballot measures as part of a broader fight against an Uber-backed proposition that would limit attorney fees in automobile accident cases.

• The measure comes in response to unsealed court documents revealing that Uber received over 400,000 reports of sexual assault or sexual misconduct between 2017 and 2022, representing a report approximately every eight minutes.

Male Drivers Sue Uber and Lyft Over Women-Only Safety Features, Claiming Gender Discrimination

Source: Bloomberg Law

Two proposed class-action lawsuits under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act challenge Uber and Lyft’s rider-driver matching programs that allow women passengers to request women drivers. The male plaintiffs argue these safety features, Uber’s women-only matching option and Lyft’s “Women+ Connect” feature, limit their income and job opportunities while reinforcing negative gender stereotypes, seeking $4,000 per affected male driver.

• The lawsuits, filed by legal firm Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, represent a legal test case that pits safety initiatives against anti-discrimination protections under California’s broad public accommodations law.

• Legal experts note the irony: some sexual assault plaintiffs have previously argued Uber was negligent for not implementing gender-matching programs, while these plaintiffs claim such programs are discriminatory.

Uber Faces Mounting Pressure from Congress, Investors, and Ballot Initiatives Over Sexual Assault Record

Source: The New York Times

Uber is encountering intensified scrutiny across multiple fronts as Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI) calls for congressional hearings, New York State’s comptroller leads a shareholder push for a transparency report on passenger safety, and California’s ballot initiative seeks to hold the company legally accountable for sexual misconduct. The pressure follows New York Times reporting that revealed Uber received reports of sexual assault or misconduct almost every eight minutes between 2017 and 2022, far more than publicly disclosed.

• The company currently faces over 3,000 lawsuits in federal and state courts from passengers alleging sexual assault or harassment, with the first consolidated federal trial underway in Phoenix this month.

• New Jersey’s attorney general has launched a consumer fraud investigation, and a House oversight subcommittee is conducting a separate inquiry into Uber’s sexual assault safety protocols.

• Uber continues to argue it’s not responsible for driver misconduct since drivers are classified as independent contractors, a position that was reinforced when California voters approved Proposition 22 in 2020.

Lyft CEO David Risher Focuses on Customer Obsession to Drive Company Turnaround

Source: Inc Magazine

Lyft CEO David Risher spoke to Inc Magazine about how he’s helped the company bounce back by prioritizing customer service and operational excellence, drawing on his Amazon experience under Jeff Bezos. Under Risher’s leadership, Lyft’s market share has climbed from 26-27% to approximately 30%, and the stock has risen about 40% over the past 12 months, from $9 to $19 per share, outperforming both Uber and the broader market.

• Risher tackled driver cancellation rates as a priority issue, reducing them from 15% to below 5% by cutting through internal resistance and focusing on what annoyed customers rather than conducting lengthy research studies.

• The company has launched rider-centric products including Women+ Connect (matching female and nonbinary riders with female and nonbinary drivers) and Lyft Silver, a simplified service for older adults, while recently acquiring European mobility platform Freenow to double its addressable market.

• Despite progress, Risher says the turnaround is only “10 percent” complete and views autonomous vehicles as “one of the biggest opportunities” since the company’s founding, envisioning a hybrid network where riders choose between self-driving cars and human drivers.

DoorDash Chief Revenue Officer Lee Brown Exits After Less Than Six Months

Source: Bloomberg

DoorDash Chief Revenue Officer Lee Brown is departing the delivery app company after less than six months to pursue a new opportunity, with Shanna Prevé, the company’s vice president of enterprise sales and business development for over five years, taking over the role. Brown joined DoorDash in August 2025 from Spotify, where he led the audio streamer’s $2 billion advertising business as chief advertising officer.

• Prevé will oversee revenue across DoorDash’s main business lines in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, including restaurant, retail, grocery, and emerging categories, while partnering closely with ads chief Toby Espinosa.

• DoorDash, which controls approximately two-thirds of the US food-delivery market, has been aggressively expanding its advertising business, now generating more than $1 billion annually, and acquired ad tech firm Symbiosys for $175 million in June 2025.

• The chief revenue officer position has experienced high turnover at DoorDash, with Brown filling the role vacated by Tom Pickett, who left in 2024 to become CEO of meditation app Headspace.

QUICK HITS

• RSG Contributor Kian recently got deactivated from his Uber account for not meeting the company’s new age requirements. He details in a new video why drivers can’t count on Uber for reliable income. – RSG YouTube

• Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi spoke about AI innovation at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. – Business Insider

• Waymo has just launched in Miami. – CNBC

• NYC rideshare drivers worry that New York’s robotaxi proposal will reduce jobs. – Spectrum News

• Want to learn more about the robotaxi industry? Subscribe to The Driverless Digest, our new newsletter and podcast dedicated to the future of autonomous vehicles.

Must Listen Or Watch RSG Content

Here are this week’s featured podcast episode and YouTube videos:

• RSG268: Uber’s NEXT Big Move? Taxis!

• The Cost Per Mile Truth Uber & Lyft Don’t Want Drivers to Know

• Uber’s AI Assistant: Helpful Tool or Trap?

• What Top Uber & Lyft Drivers Do Differently

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