Walmart Inc. agreed to a $100 million settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and 11 states after the FTC alleged that the retailer misled gig‑driver delivery workers in its Spark Driver program about their earnings and tips. The settlement requires Walmart to implement an earnings‑verification program and prohibits any future misrepresentations of driver compensation.
The Spark Driver program, launched in 2018, employs roughly one million independent contractors who have completed more than 272 million deliveries. Walmart’s e‑commerce sales have grown to over $150 billion last year, with net sales of $108.7 billion in Q1 FY25 and $180.6 billion in Q4 FY24, underscoring the program’s role in the company’s broader growth strategy.
While $100 million is a modest expense relative to Walmart’s $648.1 billion FY24 revenue, the settlement carries reputational risk and signals heightened regulatory scrutiny of the company’s gig‑delivery operations. The required earnings‑verification program will add compliance costs and operational oversight to the Spark Driver platform.
The FTC’s complaint noted that customers were told all tips would go to drivers, a promise that was not always honored. “Labor markets cannot function efficiently without truthful and non‑misleading information about earnings and other material terms,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Walmart’s settlement follows a broader pattern of enforcement against gig‑economy firms, including Amazon’s $60 million Flex program settlement and Grubhub’s $25 million payment. A separate Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lawsuit in December 2024 accused Walmart of forcing Spark drivers to use costly deposit accounts for payment. These actions reflect the FTC’s Joint Labor Task Force’s focus on protecting gig workers’ rights.
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