Ride companies must train drivers and report unlawful refusals

Ride companies must train drivers about service animals and adopt a policy against unlawful discrimination. The training applies to drivers on covered ride companies’ platforms. Companies must give the policy to those drivers and post it on their websites. These duties do not apply to companies that provide most of their services to schools or school districts under a required contract. Drivers must finish training within six months after joining the platform or within six months after this section takes effect, whichever is later. Companies must adopt the policy as soon as practicable.

Ride companies must report unlawful refusals to the state commission, and most companies must let riders report refusals through the company’s platform. Reports cover refusals to transport riders that violate the law’s discrimination rules. Companies serving mostly schools under a required contract report quarterly and need not provide the platform reporting tool. The commission must combine the reports, remove identifying details, and publish them. The reports must include yearly refusal totals and counts of investigations and steps taken to address refusals. Companies submit reports monthly, except school focused companies, which submit them quarterly.

The state commission must consider a company’s good-faith efforts and recent violation count when deciding whether to impose a fine and how much it should be. When considering a fine, the commission must consider the company’s good-faith efforts, including efforts to address a driver’s first violation, and its violations in the preceding twelve months. The commission may fine a company up to $1,300 for violating the specified discrimination, policy, or reporting requirements. The fine rule does not apply to services provided under a required school contract. Other state and federal protections against discrimination still apply. The commission considers violations from the twelve months before its decision.