A Walmart truck pulls out of a Walmart distribution center in Hurricane, Utah on May 30, 2024.
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a complaint against it on Monday Walmart and labor scheduling platform Branch Messenger for allegedly forcing delivery drivers to use poorly managed and costly deposit accounts to get paid.
“Walmart made false promises, illegally opened accounts and exploited more than a million delivery drivers,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a news release. “Companies cannot force workers to be paid through accounts that add junk fees to their income.”
The lawsuit alleges that since 2021, Walmart and Branch have opened store accounts for more than 1 million drivers under the Spark Driver Program, Walmart's platform for gig economy workers to accept and schedule “last mile” deliveries, and then deposited the drivers' salaries into these accounts without their consent.
The company allegedly told drivers that they would be fired if they did not want to use the branch accounts and misled drivers about when they would be able to access their earnings. When drivers used the platform, they allegedly faced numerous delays or fees when they had to transfer the money to another account, resulting in more than $10 million in “junk fees.”
The CFPB also accused Branch of failing to investigate alleged errors, failing to provide certain disclosures, failing to keep records, failing to comply with payment requests, and unlawfully requiring consumers to waive their legal rights.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of actions the CFPB has taken against companies for misusing consumer and employee financial accounts. The agency previously sued Comerica Bank for failing to administer the federal benefits program and charging illegal fees on prepaid debit cards.
Most recently, the CFPB filed a complaint against payment network operator Zelle as well as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, alleging the companies failed to properly investigate fraud complaints or provide compensation to victims. The lawsuit claims customers have lost more than $870 million since Zelle launched in 2017.
“Branch strongly disagrees with the lawsuit filed today by the CFPB as it misrepresents the law and facts and contains intentional omissions designed to obscure the FBI's clear overreach,” a representative for Branch wrote in a statement to CNBC.
Walmart representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
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