The joint proposal, which was reached through mediation, was filed with the administrative law judge in the case on Thursday afternoon.
The settlement, which still has to be formally approved by the administrative law judge and the commission, will see Uber pay a $150,000 fine, instead of a $59 million penalty it faced last year for not complying with the commission's data request.
The company will also deposit $9 million with the commission, of which $5 million will go to the California Victim Compensation Fund for the compensation of victims of sexual violence. The other $4 million will go to address physical and sexual violence in the passenger carrier industry, according to the agreement.
Uber also will hand over the data sought by the CPUC regarding past incidents, under the terms of the settlement, although information that could identify victims will be withheld.
The terms also require Uber to anonymize data in its upcoming safety report to the CPUC, removing identifying victim and witness information. "This protects victim privacy and prevents a chilling effect on future sexual assault reporting," the filing said, adding that in the future, Uber will give witnesses the opportunity to provide written consent to be contacted by the commission and can withdraw it at any time.
The CPUC regulates some transportation companies, including Uber and Lyft, and had previously threatened to suspend Uber's ability to operate in its home state if it did not pay the fine and comply with its data request.
"Working together with the California Public Utilities Commission and experts from RAINN, we've been able to find a path forward that preserves the privacy and agency of sexual assault survivors," Uber Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Tony West said in an emailed statement, referring to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, a victim advocacy group which is also party to the filing.
"We look forward to continued collaboration with the Commission to shine a light on this societal issue and help set the standard for safety and transparency in our industry." West said.
The CPUC did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
"We are grateful to (the Consumer Protection and Enforcement Division) and Uber for working collaboratively with RAINN and finding a way to both protect consumers and protect the rights of survivors of sexual violence," Scott Berkowitz, president of RAINN, said in an emailed statement. "We are also grateful to CPUC for inviting RAINN to be part of the process, and ensuring that survivors' voices were heard throughout."
The case stems from a safety report that Uber released in December 2019, where it said it received close to 6,000 reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment claims for 2017 and 2018 during 2.2 billion U.S. rides, 464 of which were rapes.
Of those about a fifth were reported in California, according to Uber.
CPUC administrative law judge Robert Mason then ordered the company to provide more information on when and where the incidents happened, along with contact information for witnesses who in many cases were the victims themselves.
The commission said it wanted the information to conduct follow-up investigations and that it could be filed under seal to protect privacy, a measure Uber said was insufficient.
Uber refused to provide the information, saying in filings with the commission that the victims had not given their consent and that doing so risked retraumatizing them along with having a chilling effect on future reports.
That refusal led to the commission issuing a $59 million fine against the company, which it appealed.
Victim advocacy groups, including RAINN, have supported Uber's refusal to hand over the information, saying companies should be commended for protecting survivors of abuse.
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