Walmart has agreed to a $100 million judgment to resolve allegations brought by the Federal Trade Commission and 11 U.S. states regarding its Spark Driver program. Regulators claimed the company misled gig delivery drivers about expected earnings, including base pay, incentives, and customer tips. According to the complaint, drivers were shown inflated compensation estimates and were not fully informed about conditions affecting tip payments or changes to pay when orders were modified. Authorities also alleged the company misled customers by stating that “100% of tips go to the driver,” while in some cases the tips were not fully passed along. The settlement resolves claims that these practices caused drivers to lose tens of millions of dollars in expected income.
As part of the agreement, Walmart must create a system to verify driver earnings and ensure promised payments are delivered. The company is also restricted from changing pay details in delivery offers except under limited circumstances, such as order cancellations. In addition, the order prohibits misleading statements about earnings in the platform’s delivery offers. Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, stated, “Labor markets cannot function efficiently without truthful and non-misleading information about earnings and other material terms.” Regulators stated that the action reflects broader efforts to address unfair practices affecting gig workers and protect transparency in labor markets.
