Lyft agreed to a $38 million settlement over how it handled certain rider-related fees in New York, tied to trips completed between October 11, 2015 and July 31, 2017. The dispute centers on an “administrative charge” of about 11.4% that Lyft deducted from drivers’ payments—an amount aligned with New York sales tax and the Black Car Fund (BCF) surcharge, a state-created program funded by per-ride assessments to support workers’ compensation for eligible drivers. Investigators alleged that these charges were owed by riders (and collected through the platform) but were effectively taken out of drivers’ earnings, reducing take-home pay and obscuring how compensation was calculated. The case was filed as part of a broader enforcement effort led by the New York Attorney General after a multi-year investigation into app-based ride-hail companies’ pay practices and worker protections, and it matters because it targets a recurring tension in the gig economy: who ultimately bears mandatory taxes/assessments and how transparently platforms disclose them. In addition to reimbursing eligible drivers who submit claims by March 31, 2025, the settlement also pushed operational changes and benefits for current New York drivers—such as clearer earnings documentation, training pay, deactivation appeals, and paid sick leave—reflecting the growing impact of New York City and State rules that require sick leave for covered workers and the state’s ongoing oversight of BCF-related collections. More broadly, this Lyft resolution parallels the much larger Uber settlement announced alongside it, highlighting a pattern of public and private actions alleging drivers were shortchanged through fee pass-throughs, deductions, or opaque pay statements. Similar disputes have appeared nationwide in different forms—misclassification and wage-and-hour lawsuits, challenges to platform “fees,” and enforcement of local minimum pay standards—while regulators increasingly scrutinize how ride-hail companies itemize charges, comply with consumer-tax rules, and meet evolving labor protections for app-based workers in major markets like New York