Texas hits Walmart with $13M settlement over delivery driver pay

According to the Assurance of Voluntary Compliance filed in Collin County, Texas, investigators alleged Walmart made misleading representations to delivery drivers dating back to at least 2021 involving three primary categories of compensation: customer tips, base pay and incentive bonuses.

The state alleged Walmart sometimes promised drivers they would receive the full customer tip on deliveries that were later split among multiple drivers, reducing the actual amount received. 

Investigators also claimed Walmart modified or removed deliveries from accepted batches without notifying drivers, reducing both expected tips and base pay after offers had already been accepted. The investigation further alleged the company misrepresented the requirements drivers needed to meet to qualify for incentive payments.

Under the agreement, Walmart generally cannot reduce a driver’s promised earnings after an offer has been accepted except under specified circumstances, such as customer-requested order changes, or driver cancellations. 

The company also agreed not to misrepresent estimated earnings, customer tips, incentive opportunities or other material aspects of delivery offers.

The retailer also must operate an earnings verification program designed to ensure drivers receive the compensation displayed when they accept delivery offers. The program requires annual assessments, documentation of any underpayments, remediation efforts and reporting to Texas regulators for 10 years.

It remains unclear how many Texas Spark drivers were affected by the alleged compensation practices or whether any unpaid restitution remains available. Neither the settlement agreement nor the Texas Attorney General’s announcement identifies the number of eligible drivers or outlines a process for drivers to determine whether they qualify for compensation.