Pennsylvania is part of a $100 million multistate settlement that was reached with Walmart due to allegations that Walmart deceived customers and drivers who participated in its Spark Driver Program.
Through the program, launched in 2018, nearly 1 million drivers nationwide made over 272 million deliveries to customers who ordered products for home delivery.
Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the settlement Thursday, which was reached alongside a bipartisan group of attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission.
It resolves allegations that Walmart misrepresented pre-tip amounts, base pay and incentive pay to drivers.
“While Walmart showed one offer to the driver, they would split or change parts of the order after the driver accepted the offer, causing the driver to receive less than initially advertised,” the announcement said.
Walmart will pay drivers in Pennsylvania about $1,416,635, which may have been lost due to Walmart’s alleged actions, the release said. This is part of the up to $79 million Walmart will pay or already has paid directly to drivers across the country through the settlement.
“Walmart was aware almost immediately of issues with the program, and drivers being paid less than face value, yet did nothing to remedy the situation,” Sunday said in the announcement. “Time and time again, Spark drivers did not receive tips they were entitled to — this settlement goes a long way to making those harmed Pennsylvanians whole.”
Alongside Pennsylvania, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Wisconsin and California are also involved in the multistate settlement.
Walmart is also paying $11 million to the states and an additional $10 million to the FTC, which will be used to provide refunds to consumers, according to the announcement.
As a result of the settlement, Walmart will have to operate an earnings verification program and submit an annual report to the FTC for the next 10 years to make sure drivers are being paid correctly — and the company is prohibited from modifying orders after a driver accepts them or misrepresenting how much a driver will earn from an offer, Sunday’s announcement said.
