Uber is being investigated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over allegations of gender discrimination and inequity, marking just the latest in a series of problems for the ride-hailing giant.
The probe began in August after a complaint was lodged regarding pay disparity, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story. As part of the inquiry, EEOC investigators have conducted interviews with past and current Uber employees and reviewed internal Uber documents.
“We have proactively made a lot of changes in the last 18 months, including implementing a new salary and equity structure based on the market,” an Uber spokesperson said in a statement.
The ride-hailing giant has also tried to implement “diversity and leadership trainings to thousands of employees globally,” it told the Journal.
Uber did not respond to immediate requests for comment about the probe.
This is not the first time the company has had to deal with a public relations crisis.
Last week, Uber cut ties with its head of human resources, Liane Hornsey, after an internal investigation into how her department dealt with racial discrimination claims.
“I know this comes a little out of the blue for some of you, but I have been thinking about this for a while,” she wrote in an email to her team announcing her resignation.
In May, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who was hired last year to clean up a series of problems left by his predecessor, Travis Kalanick, agreed to pay $10 million to settle a class action suit claiming it discriminated against women and minorities. He has also settled a suit in which Uber was accused by Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google parent Alphabet, of stealing trade secrets.
It is unclear what EEOC’s findings will mean for the company if the allegations are verified.
