Ride-hailing, food delivery drivers could appeal deactivations under proposed ordinance

Former driver Lenny Sanchez says he was kicked off the Uber app after being falsely accused of leaving the scene of an accident by a passenger who retaliated after being admonished for drinking a beer in the backseat.

Bryan Cyhaniuk says he was falsely accused of pocketing a ring left in the backseat of his car, then blew his cool and was deactivated after enduring a series of harassing phone calls from the rider.

Drivers who work for Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing and food delivery apps would be guaranteed the right to appeal before being stripped of their livelihoods under a proposal championed by retiring Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10^th), chairman of the City Council’s Committee on Workforce Development, at the behest of the Independent Drivers Guild of Illinois.

Uber had no immediate comment on the proposed ordinance.

In a statement, Lyft said it takes “safety reports from riders and drivers extremely seriously” and reviews every complaint to “determine the appropriate course of action.” During the internal investigation, the account of the driver, passenger or both may be “frozen.”

“If a driver disagrees with the action taken, they can ask for the decision to be reviewed. From there, a separate member of Lyft’s Safety team will review the evidence and either reactivate the driver’s account, or remove them from the platform for the safety of the community,” the company said in a statement.

The proposed ordinance calls for creating a so-called “Driver Resource Center” to give drivers a forum to present their side of the story. If the “Deactivation Appeals Panel” rules a false accusation was made, deactivated drivers would be compensated for their lost wages plus 9% interest.

The new appeals process would be funded by an adjustable tax that starts at 10 cents a ride that will be paid by passengers.

Sanchez now serves as executive director of the Independent Drivers Guild of Illinois, an affiliate of the Machinists Union that advocates for drivers in Illinois and four other states.

He said he’ll never forget the deactivation nightmare that began when he heard the pop of a beer can and told his passenger to finish it quickly or throw it out when he pulled over. The rider finished the beer and put the empty can on the curb when Sanchez stopped.

“I got a phone call from Uber asking me why I left the scene of a car accident. They said the last passenger had reported that I got in a collision with another vehicle and quickly dropped him off and fled at a high rate of speed. I’m like, `That is absolutely false. I have a brand new car. ... I do not have a scratch on my car. This is a false complaint because I didn’t let him drink a Miller Lite,’” Sanchez said.

“I got deactivated that Friday evening and came home, unable to work to the frustration of my wife. Times were very tough. I needed every dollar that I was hoping to make that night and that weekend to make ends meet.”

Sanchez proved to the insurance company — and ultimately to Uber — that there was no damage to his car.

Cyhaniuk was not so lucky. He’s been deactivated from the Uber app for nearly a year. He’s exhausted $16,000 in savings and run up huge credit card bills as he struggles to pay his rent and work between care and doctor visits for his daughter, who has multiple heart defects.

“There’s not a lot of jobs I can even take that I can work for a significant amount of time. The jobs I can take pale by comparison to the money I was making. I’ve lost all my savings. Every month is desperately making enough money just to make sure I don’t get kicked out of my place,” he said.

Cyhaniuk recalled the harassing phone calls “during all hours of the day and night” from the rider who accused him of keeping the ring.

“I said, ‘Leave me the f--- alone. I don’t have your ring,’” he said.

Sanchez said he has met more than 200 deactivated drivers over the last year who claim to have been stripped of their livelihoods after similar phony claims for bad behavior.

“Not allowing passengers to put 10 people in a car or have sex in a car or speeding on the way to a flight they’re running late to. Breaking laws. These are all absolute realities that we face on a daily basis. And it is abused by passengers to either retaliate [against] us or to get a free ride or a free meal because they know that, by making these false claims of some sort, that they’re gonna get credit,” Sanchez said.