Uber, Lyft, Postmates and other gig economy companies fired or rejected workers based on inaccurate automated background checks provided by Checkr, according to media reports based on court records and interviews.

Since 2015, Checkr faced multiple lawsuits under the US Fair Credit Reporting Act for mistaking people with others with the same or similar names and misreporting offences, including alleged criminal activity, due to out-of-context or outdated records being included in background reports.

The result: actual and prospective drivers being denied work and income by Uber and its other ride-sharing customers. 

Experts told Protocol that Checkr and its customers were often reluctant to take responsibility for these failures, meaning several lawsuits were aimed at multiple parties and often went to arbitration, ending in confidential settlements.