On Wednesday, Uber announced it would enable nonviolent felons whose sentences have been reduced to misdemeanors to apply as drivers, according to CBS San Francisco.
Uber has never allowed drivers who have committed felonies to drive for the company; even applicants whose sentences were reduced to misdemeanors by Proposition 47 were deemed ineligible. But now Uber will notify drivers who had been disqualified as applicants that if Proposition 47 enables them to reduce their sentences, they can apply to drive for the ride-sharing company.
Uber also stated that it would refer applicants to Defy Ventures, which trains ex-felons for job-seeking, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Unlike California taxi companies, Uber uses court records instead of Live Scan for driver screening. That has elicited accusations from the taxi companies and the San Francisco and Los Angeles district attorneys that Uber’s background checks are “completely worthless.” Live Scan relies on an FBI database and fingerprinting technology.
Bloomberg reported that the district attorneys in San Francisco and Los Angeles have already filed a lawsuit arguing Uber’s background checks were porous enough that the company hired registered sex offenders, identity thieves, burglars, a kidnapper and a convicted murderer.