BIG MONEY

Uber to Establish $4.4M Fund to Settle Federal Sexual Harassment Probe

The company will settle with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to end their investigation into Uber's culture.

Uber will establish a $4.4 million fund to settle a federal probe into allegations that it allowed a culture of sexual harassment to fester within the company, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced on Wednesday. According to the Associated Press, this comes after the commission concluded in its investigation that the ride-hailing company “permitted a culture of sexual harassment and retaliation against individuals who complained about such harassment.” Certain women who worked for the company between Jan. 1, 2014, and June 30, 2019 will reportedly be eligible for money from the fund. In addition to the fund, Uber agreed to create a system to identify sexual offenders and management who fail to respond to claims about alleged harassment.

The probe was launched after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote a 2017 blog post detailing her experiences with harassment at the company, alleging that complaints to human resources were often ignored. The company subsequently fired 20 people, including managers.