San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu has asked Uber to provide information on potentially discriminatory practices surrounding transgender, non-binary and gender nonconforming drivers.
Chiu signed the letter with Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, and San Diego City Attorney Mara W. Elliott, sent Thursday by Feuer's office in response to stories from drivers who said they were banned from Uber's apps and outed to customers by the UberEats app.
"Transgender and gender nonconforming drivers should not have to put themselves in danger or navigate a bureaucratic nightmare just to make a living," said Chiu. "Shielding drivers from workplace violence and ensuring equal opportunity to work are non-negotiable. We look forward to engaging with Uber to ensure that the company has adequate protections and policies in place for transgender drivers."
According to Chiu's news release, drivers have reported being permanently banned from the app simply because a government-issued photo ID did not match more recent photographs submitted to Uber that reflect the drivers' gender identity.
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Despite multiple attempts to explain the situation with company representatives, Chiu said drivers remained barred from the app.
In addition, the news release reports that Uber drivers using the UberEats app have said the app does not show their chosen name and instead shows their "deadname" to customers.
When a person is deadnamed, it not only has the effect of outing that person, but it can also potentially put them in a dangerous situation. This is particularly concerning, Chiu said, given the well-documented pattern of violence towards transgender people in the United States.
