Arbitration: what actually happens, from the public files
Deactivated workers hear a lot about arbitration. Forum threads promise five-figure payouts. California law forces AAA and JAMS, the companies that run these cases, to publish every case they handle. So instead of stories, we pulled the files. This is what actually happens.
- The official case files AAA and JAMS must publish under California law (CCP 1281.96), downloaded July 10, 2026. They cover roughly the last five years.
- We count worker cases only: cases filed under a platform's driver or shopper agreement. Customer cases appear once below, clearly labeled, because they tell a different story.
- What these files cannot see: disputes resolved before anyone filed, cases at other forums or in court, and the terms of any settlement. “Withdrawn” does not say why a case was pulled back.
- Very few cases reach a final decision, so award numbers describe a handful of cases, not the typical result.
- The law that forces publication is California's, but the files cover cases nationwide. One detail that matters: nearly all of Lyft's driver cases (2,211 of 2,222) were filed by California firms, so that slice describes California campaigns, not every state's experience. For the JAMS cases, the file almost never records the state.
The pattern: cases end in deals, not verdicts
Of the 3,250 worker cases on file, the large majority ended in a settlement between the two sides or were withdrawn. Only 20 ran all the way to an arbitrator's final decision. In the files we can read, 2 workers won money at that decision.
How they ended, platform by platform
Lyft: 2,222 driver cases (AAA, 2019 to 2025)
Uber: 895 worker cases (JAMS, 2019 to 2026)
Gopuff: 44 cases (JAMS, 2020 to 2025)
Instacart: 22 cases (JAMS) · Shipt: 14 cases (JAMS)
Final decisions are almost never a check
Of Uber's 16 cases that reached a final decision, 2 ended with money for the worker ($13,200 and $359,000). In 11, the arbitrator dismissed the claims or awarded nothing. Lyft's single final decision went to the company. If someone tells you arbitration reliably ends in a big payout, the public files do not show that.
How long it takes
These are typical times (half of cases took longer) from filing the case to closing it:
Who pays the arbitration company
The JAMS files record who paid the forum's fees. At Uber, the company paid 100% in 892 of 895 cases. At Gopuff, in all 44. Your own filing fee is capped by the forum's rules (a few hundred dollars). The real cost is time, and usually a lawyer: 97% of Lyft filers had one.
The customer flood, for contrast
A different story, and worth labeling clearly: Uber customers, not drivers. One law firm filed about 98% of 32,029 customer cases at AAA. 98% were withdrawn without a decision. When filings arrive by the thousands, they end in bulk deals or abandonment, not hearings.
Platform by platform
| Platform | Public worker cases | What usually happened | Typical time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyft | 2,222 | 93% settled | 804 days |
| Uber | 909 | 7 in 10 settled | 632 days |
| Gopuff | 44 | 6 in 10 dismissed without a hearing | 259 days |
| Instacart | 22 | Mostly settled | 71 days |
| Shipt | 14 | 11 of 14 settled | 306 days |
| DoorDash | 23 | Too few cases to show a pattern. DoorDash sends new cases to JAMS as of May 2026, so the public record will grow there. | |
| Amazon Flex | 4 | All four settled. Separately, some judges have refused to force Flex drivers into arbitration at all. | |
| Grubhub | 5 | Too few cases to show a pattern. | |
| Spark (Walmart) | 0 | No public cases under the entities we could verify. |
What this means if you were just deactivated
Arbitration is real leverage, but it is slow, it costs, and it almost always takes a lawyer. The appeal is the fast lane, and it is where most accounts are won back or lost.
If your appeal was already denied, the next move is document-shaped: the pre-arbitration notice the contract requires. Most cases that get that far end in a deal, not a hearing. Our escalation packet writes that notice from your facts. See the escalation packet ($49)
Sources: AAA (adr.org) and JAMS (jamsadr.com) consumer arbitration files, published under California CCP 1281.96, downloaded July 10, 2026. The providers republish quarterly; we recompute when they do. Related data: background check complaints.