Local
WorkWhile settlement directs $2.1 million to drivers, requires employee status in 2027
San Francisco’s latest agreement with the gig-work company provides $2.1 million in restitution to drivers and $200,000 in city penalties. WorkWhile must classify all its workers as employees starting Jan. 1, 2027, but the company did not admit wrongdoing.
WorkWhile will pay $2.3 million under a settlement with San Francisco over allegations that the gig-work company misclassified drivers as independent contractors, the city attorney’s office said. The agreement requires $2.1 million in restitution for drivers and $200,000 in penalties to the city.
The settlement also requires WorkWhile to classify all its workers as employees beginning Jan. 1, 2027. That status brings protections including paid breaks, sick pay and workplace safety rules that do not apply in the same way to independent contractors.
The company did not admit wrongdoing. The agreement concludes a lawsuit filed by City Attorney David Chiu in June 2024, which alleged that WorkWhile denied workers employment protections by treating them as contractors.
The latest payment covers drivers who were not included in earlier agreements. In December 2024, a court judgment and injunction required the company to pay $1 million to non-driver workers in hospitality, food service and warehouse jobs. A separate agreement announced in January provided $4.1 million to a group of delivery drivers and required WorkWhile to pay the city $400,000 in penalties.
Together, the worker payments in the three agreements total $7.2 million. The settlements are part of Chiu’s broader effort to pursue companies over alleged labor-law violations, including worker misclassification.
In a statement issued in January, WorkWhile CEO Simon Khalaf said the company disagreed with the city’s allegations but said the resolution would provide financial support to workers while allowing the company to focus on its mission.