Walmart settles a $100 million lawsuit related to Spark driver pay

Walmart has settled a lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission over Spark delivery driver pay. The settlement totaled $100 million and involved claims that the retail giant misled delivery drivers in 11 states about base pay and customer tips.

The settlement includes a “driver fund” that will distribute $16.2 million to Spark drivers who claim they were underpaid back as Jan. 1, 2021. The settlement terms did not disclose how many Spark drivers would be compensated from the proceeds allotted to the driver fund.

“In many instances, Walmart either failed to notify drivers at all about the change in base pay and tips or only notified them of the change in their earnings after they completed the delivery,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Labor markets cannot function efficiently without truthful and non-misleading information about earnings and other material terms.”

Walmart uses its Spark Driver service to deliver goods to customers through the Spark Driver app using gig workers. The workers decide whether to accept “offers” to deliver orders based on Walmart’s statements about the base pay and tips a driver can expect to receive if they complete the work.

“Walmart values the hard work and dedication of the drivers who deliver great service and products to our customers,” Walmart said in a statement about the settlement. “We have issued payments to impacted drivers and continue to make additional payments as appropriate. We are continuously improving procedures to ensure fairness and transparency for drivers.”

States involved in the settlement include Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin. Spark drivers in Arkansas were not included in the class action litigation.

Walmart continues to grow its order delivery business. In its recent quarter ending Jan. 31, Walmart said U.S. e-commerce sales increased 27% from the prior-year period. Approximately 35% of orders fulfilled from stores were delivered in under three hours, and the retailer said the “express” under-3-hour deliveries increased by more than 60% year over year.

Walmart is not the first company to settle litigation over delivery driver pay. In 2025, DoorDash agreed to pay $16.75 million to 60,000 of its delivery drivers in New York state.