Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a $100 million multistate settlement with Walmart, following allegations that the company misled customers and drivers involved in its Spark Driver program. The agreement was reached by Raoul, a bipartisan group of 11 attorneys general, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). According to Raoul’s office, Illinois drivers have already received over $1.1 million due to Walmart’s alleged actions.
The Spark Driver application has been used since 2018 for home deliveries from Walmart stores. Nearly one million drivers have made more than 270 million deliveries nationwide through the platform. The settlement addresses claims that Walmart misrepresented pre-tip amounts, base pay, and incentive pay to drivers using the app.
“I am pleased to be part of this bipartisan coalition with the FTC resolving allegations that Walmart misrepresented grocery delivery fees to customers and drivers,” Raoul said. “Companies should not be able to lure in vulnerable gig workers in Illinois by misstating how much a job is worth, and Illinois consumers should feel confident that any tip they pay is going to the worker who earned it.”
Drivers used Spark to select delivery offers based on estimated earnings, which included both base pay from Walmart and customer tips. Incentive payments were also available for completing certain numbers of deliveries within specified periods or areas. It was alleged that after accepting an offer through Spark, drivers sometimes received less than initially promised because orders were split or altered by Walmart. Additionally, some drivers learned about extra requirements for incentive pay only after failing to receive it.
As part of the settlement’s $100 million judgment, up to $79 million will go toward restitution for affected drivers. Of this amount, approximately $63 million has already been paid directly to drivers—including $1.1 million distributed in Illinois—with another $16 million placed into a “Driver Fund” established by Walmart for future claims. Beyond restitution payments, Walmart will provide a total of $11 million to participating states—about $1.1 million going specifically to Illinois—and an additional $10 million will go to the FTC.
Walmart must now implement an earnings verification program and submit annual reports to the FTC for ten years as part of compliance measures designed to ensure accurate driver compensation. The company is also prohibited from altering orders after acceptance or misrepresenting potential driver earnings.
This action reflects broader efforts by the Illinois Attorney General’s office to advocate for vulnerable groups such as workers and consumers across Illinois (https://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/index). The office manages thousands of consumer complaints each year (https://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/index) and works with law enforcement agencies on issues ranging from fraud prevention to victim support (https://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/index). Additional services include complaint filing related to consumer fraud and civil rights matters (https://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/index).
Other state officials joining Raoul in this settlement include attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin; Alameda County District Attorney’s Office in California also participated.
