Ohio Bill Would Force Uber and Lyft to Recheck Drivers Every 6 Months

Ohio drivers who book an Uber or Lyft could soon get stronger background-check protections under a bill introduced this month at the Statehouse. House Bill 980, from state Rep. Rachel Baker of the Cincinnati area, would require the two ride-hailing companies to rerun driver background checks every six months, investigate rider complaints within a week, and turn over safety data to state regulators. It has not been assigned to a committee yet, but it lands at a moment when Uber’s safety record is under heavier national scrutiny than at any point in the company’s history, and one neighboring state has already passed some of the toughest rideshare rules in the country.

What House Bill 980 Would Require

Baker’s bill targets four specific gaps in how Uber and Lyft currently screen and monitor drivers in Ohio. First, it would require both companies to run a full background check before hiring any driver, then repeat that check every six months for as long as the person keeps driving. Second, it would set a seven-day deadline for the companies to review a driver after a rider files a complaint, rather than leaving that timeline open-ended. Third, it would require Uber and Lyft to hand over complaint and safety data to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, the state agency that would process any complaints filed under the law. Fourth, it would bar the companies from deleting or falsifying driver ratings, closing off a way that patterns of rider complaints could otherwise get buried.

Baker said she modeled the bill on rules already in place in Colorado and on findings from a national investigation into sexual assault reports on Uber rides. “There is a strong culture in Ohio of not having the government meddle in business,” Baker told WKRC. “However, I think that this is a kind of a unique situation because really the government’s biggest job is keeping people safe, and this is a clear place that some regulations would be helpful in that.”

Why Lawmakers Are Acting Now

The bill follows a New York Times investigation that found Uber received a report of sexual assault or sexual misconduct in the United States roughly every eight minutes between 2017 and 2022, totaling 400,181 reports over five years. The company had previously disclosed only 12,522 incidents it classified as “serious.” Roughly three-quarters of the reports involved lower-level conduct such as inappropriate comments, but that still left more than 100,000 reports the Times classified as serious, including assault and rape allegations.

A follow-up Times investigation published August 4 examined how Uber’s own legal team has handled civil lawsuits filed by assault survivors, and it has intensified scrutiny of the company’s safety practices in statehouses and in Congress. More than 4,000 lawsuits from passengers alleging sexual assault on rides have been filed against Uber, enough that federal courts created special coordinated proceedings to manage them. Three cases have gone to trial so far: a jury in Phoenix awarded a plaintiff $8.5 million in February, a North Carolina jury found Uber liable for a driver’s battery in April, and a California jury found Uber not liable in a separate case last fall. Uber has appealed both losses.

How Colorado’s Law Set the Template

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 26-1424 into law on June 2, a year after vetoing an earlier version of the same idea. The law requires large ride-hailing companies to run background checks on drivers every six months, bars anyone convicted of assault, harassment or domestic violence from driving, forces the companies to comply with search warrants and subpoenas within three days, and bans drivers from sharing accounts with someone else. Colorado lawmakers and advocates have called it the strongest rideshare safety law in the country, and Baker has pointed to it directly as a model for Ohio’s proposal.

The Colorado bill took two legislative sessions and sustained industry pushback to pass. Uber and Lyft lobbied against the 2025 version, and Polis cited concerns about unintended effects on driver supply when he vetoed it. The 2026 version that passed this year softened some provisions but kept the core background-check and driver-disqualification requirements intact, showing that a workable compromise with the rideshare industry is possible even after an initial veto.

Where the Bill Stands, and What the Companies Say

HB 980 has not yet been assigned to an Ohio House committee, which means it has not had a hearing and could still change substantially, stall, or die without a vote, as many bills introduced in Ohio’s part-time legislature do. Baker said the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio would be responsible for processing complaints filed under the law if it passes. The PUCO already regulates for-hire vehicles and taxi-style services in parts of the state, giving it an existing enforcement structure that Baker’s bill would extend to cover the new reporting and background-check requirements.

Ohio would not be the first state to act this year. California’s ride-hailing regulator voted last August to release safety data on Uber and Lyft assaults, then failed to actually publish it, leaving riders in that state without the transparency lawmakers had promised. Ohio’s bill tries to avoid that outcome by writing the reporting requirement directly into statute rather than leaving it to a regulator’s discretion, and by giving the PUCO a specific deadline structure through the seven-day complaint-review requirement rather than an open-ended review process.

WKRC asked both Uber and Lyft for comment on the bill. Only Lyft responded. “Safety is a critically important issue, and we appreciate Rep. Baker’s focus on it,” a Lyft spokesperson said. “We look forward to engaging with her and other lawmakers on H.B. 980 as it moves through the legislative process.” Uber did not respond to the request for comment.

What Ohio Riders Can Do Right Now

Ohio’s proposed law is months, if not longer, from taking effect, so current riders still need to rely on the safety tools already built into the Uber and Lyft apps. Before getting in, confirm the license plate, car make and model, and driver photo shown in the app match the vehicle pulling up, and ask the driver to say the rider’s name rather than volunteering it first. Use the in-app “Share My Trip” or “Follow My Ride” feature so a friend or family member can track the route in real time. Both apps also have an emergency button that connects directly to 911 while sharing the trip’s GPS location and vehicle details with dispatchers.

If something goes wrong on a ride, riders should report the incident to police directly rather than relying solely on the company’s internal review process. A police report creates an independent record that can support a future lawsuit or criminal case. Riders can also file a complaint with a state attorney general’s consumer protection office. Taking screenshots of the driver’s profile, license plate and trip details before and while riding gives investigators a clearer record if a dispute arises later.

Parents of teenage riders should also check whether their child’s Uber or Lyft account has age-verification and parental-notification features turned on; both companies offer teen accounts with additional monitoring, though neither requires a driver background check any different from the standard one that HB 980 would double.

Ohio joins a growing list of states reviewing rideshare safety legislation this year, following Colorado’s new law and ongoing safety-data fights in California. Whether HB 980 advances will likely depend on how much political capital Baker can build behind it in a legislature that, as she acknowledged, has historically been reluctant to add new regulations on business.

Ohio’s move also comes as Massachusetts weighs its own nation-leading rideshare rules and cities nationwide reassess how much oversight ride-hailing companies should face.

Sources:

• WKRC/Local 12: “Ohio may soon impose regulations on rideshare companies to help prevent sexual assaults”
• Tech Times: New York Times investigation into Uber sexual assault litigation, August 4, 2026
• KRDO: Colorado Gov. Polis signs rideshare safety bill, June 2, 2026