Spark Driver Lawsuit: The $100 Million Walmart Settlement

The FTC Pay and Tips Settlement

Walmart Spark Driver program is the retailer internal gig delivery platform, launched in 2018, through which independent contractors deliver customer orders using a mobile app. In 2026, the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from 11 states settled a lawsuit against Walmart alleging it deceived Spark drivers about how much base pay, incentive pay, and customer tips they would actually receive for completing deliveries.

The complaint alleged Walmart showed drivers an estimated earnings total before accepting a delivery, but that the actual amount received was sometimes reduced, particularly when Walmart modified batched orders, meaning multiple deliveries combined into a single trip, without adequately disclosing that the shown estimate could change. Regulators also alleged Walmart did not always pass along the full customer tip amount as promised, despite representing that 100 percent of tips would go to drivers.

The Settlement Terms

Walmart agreed to a 100 million dollar total judgment, structured as 10 million dollars paid to the FTC, 11 million dollars divided among the participating states, and 16.2 million dollars placed into a dedicated driver compensation fund covering underpayments dating back to January 1, 2021. The remaining roughly 62.8 million dollars of the judgment is suspended, provided Walmart complies with the settlement non-monetary requirements going forward.

Those requirements include implementing an earnings verification program to confirm drivers are paid what they were promised when accepting an offer, and a general prohibition on modifying base pay, tips, or incentive pay after a driver accepts an offer, except in narrow circumstances like a full order cancellation by the customer. Eligible drivers have been receiving automatic payments through the Spark app described as an adjustment credit, with some drivers reportedly receiving amounts around 50 dollars.

A Separate Misclassification Dispute

This FTC settlement is distinct from an earlier, separate legal dispute over whether Spark drivers should be classified as employees rather than independent contractors. In that case, a driver alleged Walmart failure to classify Spark drivers as employees denied them minimum wage, overtime, paid sick leave, and reimbursement for vehicle expenses like gas and insurance. That case was compelled to individual arbitration in 2024 under the arbitration clause in the Spark driver agreement, and the parties indicated in early 2025 that they had reached a settlement, though its terms were not made public.

The FTC settlement specifically addresses deceptive pay and tip practices and does not resolve or prevent separate misclassification or unreimbursed-expense claims, since those involve a different legal theory about how drivers are classified in the first place rather than whether they were paid what they were promised.

How to Get Legal Help

If you drove for Walmart Spark program and believe you were shortchanged on pay or tips, eligible drivers going back to January 2021 are covered by the FTC settlement fund, and Walmart has stated it is issuing payments as an automatic adjustment credit through the Spark app rather than requiring a separate claim form. If you believe you have a distinct misclassification or unreimbursed-expense claim, that is a separate legal question the FTC settlement does not resolve, and an employment attorney can advise on your options.

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