Attorney General Wilson reaches $100 million multistate settlement with Walmart for deceiving drivers and customers about delivery

South Carolina’s drivers to receive approximately $1 million

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - Attorney General Alan Wilson, a bipartisan group of attorneys general, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a $100 million multistate settlement with Walmart today over allegations that the company deceived customers and drivers who participated in its Spark Driver Program. Walmart will pay drivers in South Carolina approximately $1 million for what they lost because of Walmart’s alleged actions, plus nearly another $1 million to the State of South Carolina.

“Walmart’s actions had real financial consequences for thousands of South Carolinians who worked in the Spark Driver Program,” noted Attorney General Alan Wilson.  “I am pleased that this settlement will fairly compensate those drivers, as well as ensure they are paid properly moving forward.”

Walmart has run the Spark Driver program since 2018. Customers can use the Spark App to order products from Walmart for home delivery, and people can sign up to be drivers on the app. Drivers pick up products from Walmart stores and deliver them to customers, and they use the app to view and select offers to complete deliveries for payment. These offers include an estimate of how much the driver will earn from the delivery, including the base amount Walmart will pay the driver and any pre-tip the customer has selected to pay. Walmart also offers incentive pay if drivers complete deliveries within a specific period of time or in a particular area, complete a certain number of deliveries, or refer a new driver. Almost a million drivers have made 272 million deliveries nationwide through the program.

Today’s settlement 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 and, ultimately, the driver received less than the base pay or the full tip. Walmart also failed to pay drivers for completing incentives by not disclosing the full incentive requirements.

Walmart also allegedly deceived customers into thinking that 100 percent of their tip would go to drivers when, in fact, the company didn’t always pass on the full tips to the drivers and sometimes kept them entirely.

As part of the $100 million judgment included in the settlement, Walmart will pay or has already paid up to $79 million directly to drivers. In addition, the company is paying a total of $11 million to the states and an additional $10 million to the FTC, which will be used to provide refunds to consumers. Walmart will also 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 what they were promised, and the company is prohibited from modifying orders after drivers accept them or misrepresenting how much a driver will earn from an offer.

Attorney General Wilson is joined in reaching this settlement by the FTC, the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wisconsin, and the District Attorney of Alameda County, California.

A copy of the proposed settlement is available HERE.