Consumer protection agency sues Walmart branch, alleging gig drivers illegally paid wages

NEW YORK (AP) — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is suing Walmart and job-scheduling platform Branch Messenger, accusing them of forcing delivery drivers participating in the discount store’s gig program to use expensive deposit accounts to get paid and lying about how they were paid. Way.

The agency claimed last week that for about two years starting in 2021, Walmart and Branch violated federal law by forcing 1 million drivers participating in its so-called Spark program to use Branch to get paid, and that they would fire those who were unwilling to do so. workers. Use these accounts. Walmart’s Spark program uses gig workers who make so-called “last-mile” deliveries from Walmart stores across the country.

The CFPB also alleges that Walmart and Branch misled employees about how much they earned that day. Drivers are said to have to follow complex processes to access their funds, and when they finally do, they face further delays or fees if they need to transfer the money they earn into an account of their choice.

The agency said the practice cost workers more than $10 million in fees.

“Walmart made false promises, illegally opened accounts, and took advantage of more than 1 million delivery drivers,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement released on Dec. 23. Trash Fees . ”

In a statement emailed to The Associated Press on Friday, a Walmart spokesman called the lawsuit “rushed” and said it is “riddled with factual errors and contains exaggerations and flagrant misstatements of established legal principles.”

“The CFPB never gave Walmart a fair opportunity to present its case during its hasty investigation,” the statement said. “We look forward to vigorously defending the company in court, which, unlike the CFPB, respects due process of law.”

Minneapolis-based Branch said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press that it strongly disagrees with the lawsuit filed by the CFPB, which Branch said misrepresents the law and facts and intentionally The omission serves to conceal the Bureau’s clear overreach.

“The bureau provides a valuable service to Walmart and its driver-partners by allowing them to quickly and easily access funds through their business accounts — a critical fact that the bureau’s press release ignores,” the statement said.