The US Department of Justice filed a settlement agreement with Uber Technologies Inc. over allegations of disability-related discrimination.

Uber will pay several million dollars in compensation to more than 65,000 Uber users who were charged discriminatory fees due to a disability, the DOJ announced on Monday.

The department filed a lawsuit in November 2021 alleging that Uber violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination by private transportation companies.

The complaint alleged that Uber began charging passengers wait time fees in several cities, eventually expanding the policy nationwide in 2016. The wait time fees started two minutes after the Uber car arrived at the pickup location and were charged until it began the trip. The department alleged that Uber violated the ADA by failing to reasonably modify its wait time fee policy for passengers who, because of disability, needed more than two minutes to get in an Uber car.

“People with disabilities should not be made to feel like second-class citizens or punished because of their disability, which is exactly what Uber’s wait time fee policy did,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Under the terms of the two-year settlement agreement, Uber will waive wait time fees for all the riders who certify that they, or someone they frequently travel with, needs more time to get in an Uber car because of a disability. It will advertise the wait fee waiver program, provide training to customer service representatives on the same and ensure that refunds are easily available for anyone who does not have a waiver and is falsely charged a wait time fee because of disability.

Uber will also credit the accounts of more than 65,000 eligible riders who signed up for the waiver program for double the amount of wait time fees they were ever charged — which could amount to potentially hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in compensation. It will also pay $1,738,500 to more than 1,000 riders who complained about being charged wait time fees because of disability and $500,000 to other harmed individuals identified by the department.

“This agreement sends a strong message that Uber and other ridesharing companies will be held accountable if their services discriminate against people with disabilities,” Clarke said. “The Civil Rights Division remains committed to enforcing the ADA and ensuring that people with disabilities can travel free from barriers and indignities.”