On Monday, cab drivers won a milestone case against the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) in a decades-long battle for drivers’ justice.
Attorneys representing nearly 20,000 taxi, app, or for-hire-vehicle drivers and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) announced at a press conference Tuesday that they reached a $140 million settlement with the City of New York, following a 19-year protracted legal battle.
Speaking outside outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse, attorneys said the settlement is the conclusion of a case that first began in 2006 that challenged the TLC’s long-running practice of suspending the license of any cab driver who was arrested — even if those arrests occurred while drivers were off duty.
Thousands of drivers reported that they did not have to be convicted of a crime, only arrested, for their license to be suspended. Drivers who were arrested on felony or misdemeanor charges would face suspension with little to no opportunity for recourse. As a result of the suspensions, the NYTWA alleges that between 2003 and 2010, the 20,000 drivers collectively lost more than 3 million days of work.
If a driver wished to challenge their suspension, the TLC offered a post-suspension hearing that the NYTWA said rarely, if ever worked in the driver’s favor. In a 2019 federal court ruling, the court found that the TLC’s practice was an unconstitutional violation of a driver’s right to due process. Not a single driver had their suspension overturned in a hearing, according to the NYTWA.
TLC licensed drivers are overwhelming immigrants, representing 90% of the total workforce.
Ibrahim Gory, 58, had his license revoked in 2011 after he was wrongfully arrested in a stop and frisk encounter outside his apartment in East Harlem. An immigrant from Senegal, Gory fought to get his yellow cab license reinstated for five months after his charges were dropped.
Also Read: Comptroller Brad Lander Calls on TLC Commission to Release Ride Share Lockout Data
“I was so angry because I didn’t do anything wrong except I was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said Tuesday outside the courthouse. “I started driving in 1992 and I never had trouble during all that time. Never had a complaint.”
When he tried to state his case before the TLC, he said he was not able to even schedule a hearing. “At least give me a fair hearing,” he said. “Hear my side of what happened but none of that happened.”
Mohammed Ullah, 60, a yellow cab driver from Bangladesh, had his license suspended in 2007 after he was arrested on a harassment charge. As the criminal case dragged on, so did his suspension. For nearly two years, Ullah survived working at odd jobs like street vending and at a grocery store so he could support his wife and two children, he said. On top of that, he also had to pay his mounting legal fees.
Although he got his license back once he won his legal case, the thought of that time still haunts him. “It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “I’m still crying inside.”
According to the NYTWA, 90% of arrests that led to TLC driver license suspensions were found to be without merit or reduced to minor infractions.
Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the NYTWA, says that the settlement will finally close a dark chapter in many cab drivers’ lives.
Also Read: Millions Unclaimed in NY Rideshare Wage Settlement
“This historic, and long overdue, settlement is a semblance of justice for so many drivers whose lives were destroyed when they were presumed guilty, stripped of due process, and left unable to work and have the time to fully defend their innocence after an unfair arrest,” she said in a statement. “The victories in this case are a reminder of the dark period when cab drivers were treated as second-class citizens and the inalienable value of our constitutional rights as Americans.”
Responding to Documented’s response for comment, the TLC law department stated that they have since changed their policies but did not elaborate further on what those changes entailed.
“This settlement is in the best interest of the city and a fair resolution for over 19,000 class members, bringing an end to litigation that has lasted for nearly two decades,” they said. “In 2022, TLC amended its processes, which have been upheld as constitutional and demonstrate the agency’s commitment to protecting the rights and fair treatment of taxi drivers.”
Also Read: TLC Fines Rise 446% as Cab Drivers Struggle to Pay Medallion Debts
To qualify, TLC drivers whose licenses were suspended based on arrests may be eligible to receive awards ranging from several hundred dollars to $36,000 or more, based upon the duration of their license suspension and other factors. The attorneys have filed for preliminary approval of the settlement by the court and once granted, class members will be notified of the process to file a claim.
For more information and to see if you may qualify please contact the New York Taxi Workers Alliance at 718-706-9892 or you could submit a form here.
