Penalty Amount
$100,000,000
The FTC and 11 states settled with Walmart for $100 million over deceptive earnings claims in its Spark Driver gig worker app, where drivers were misled about base pay, tips, and incentives. The settlement also addressed GLBA violations for failing to provide proper notice regarding the handling of drivers' financial information. Walmart must implement an earnings verification program and is banned from misrepresenting driver earnings.
Walmart must pay a $100 million judgment, implement an earnings verification program to ensure drivers receive promised earnings and tips, is prohibited from modifying delivery offers after initial presentation except in limited circumstances (e.g., driver failure or customer cancellation), and is banned from misrepresenting earnings and other information in delivery offers to Spark drivers.
In-house legal teams should review all vendor, contractor, and gig worker agreements (specifically for delivery or platform-based services) for clauses related to compensation representations, tip allocations, and incentive structures. Key clauses to scrutinize include earnings guarantees, payment calculations, tip pass-through mechanisms, and any financial data handling provisions. Given the GLBA violation, contracts involving the collection or sharing of driver financial information (like bank details for payment) must be assessed for adequate privacy notices and data security safeguards. Changes may be required to implement verified, non-misleading pay calculations, ensure 100% tip pass-through as promised, add explicit financial privacy notices compliant with GLBA, and incorporate audit rights or verification programs to prevent future deceptive practices.
Entity
Walmart, Inc.
Also known as: Walmart
Industry
RetailOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/02/walmart-agrees-100-million-judgment-settle-ftc-states-charges-over-deceptive-earnings-claims-related
WalmartSparkDriverComplaint
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/WalmartSparkDriverComplaint.pdf
WalmartSparkDriver Order
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/WalmartSparkDriver-Order.pdf
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"Walmart, Inc. has agreed to a $100 million judgment to settle allegations from the Federal Trade Commission and 11 states"
"$100 million judgment"
"violated the FTC Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act"
"The company failed to notify drivers that, unlike the payment for the goods being delivered, the payment for the advertised tip amount had not been preauthorized, and therefore drivers would not receive that amount if the customer was unable to cover the cost of the tip or if the charge otherwise failed."
"Deceiving drivers about the amount of tips they will receive from an order."
$13.0M
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a settlement with Walmart over deceptive practices in its Spark Driver program. Walmart misrepresented driver pay, including failing to pass on customer tips and altering base pay after drivers accepted offers. The $13 million settlement provides direct payments to affected Texas drivers and requires Walmart to implement honest compensation practices.
The FTC, Utah, and Nevada sued Lens.com Inc., alleging that it advertised artificially low contact lens prices while hiding mandatory checkout charges and misleading consumers about its AutoRefill subscription. The complaint seeks to stop the alleged practices; the court has not yet decided the case, and no penalty or remedy has been imposed.
The FTC issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeking public comment on whether ad-optimization tools offered by online platforms may help scammers impersonate businesses and government agencies. This is a proposed regulatory inquiry, not an enforcement action against a named company; no penalty or remedy was imposed.
$2.5B
A federal court approved a revised order in the FTC's Amazon Prime case under which Amazon will accelerate and expand redress payments under the September 2025 $2.5 billion settlement, which resolved allegations that Amazon enrolled millions of consumers in Prime subscriptions without their consent and knowingly made cancellation difficult. More consumers now qualify for refunds, the maximum payment cap rises from $51 to $200, and all future payments will be distributed automatically starting October 1, 2026, with potential supplemental $149 payments by April 2027. Amazon has already issued more than $845 million in redress payments as of September 2026.
$225.0M
The FTC and the state of Washington filed a joint complaint and proposed stipulated order requiring Amway Corp. and two affiliates—World Wide Group, L.L.C. (WWG) and Leadership Team Development Inc. (LTD)—to pay a $225 million judgment, the largest monetary recovery ever obtained from an MLM in an FTC action, over allegations that they used deceptive earnings claims and unfair tactics to recruit Independent Business Owners. The complaint alleges the companies falsely promised substantial income and recruitment success, pressured IBOs to buy products they could not resell, and instructed IBOs to falsely report sales. Nearly all of the judgment will be used as redress for IBOs who lost money, and the proposed order imposes structural reforms including a 70% resale requirement, independent audits of sales records, and a ban on approved providers charging new IBOs for first-year training.
$100.0M
FleetCor Technologies Inc. (now Corpay Inc.) and its CEO Ronald Clarke agreed to pay $100 million to settle an FTC administrative action alleging the company charged small business customers hidden and unauthorized fees for fuel cards and misrepresented gas savings, fraud-control features, and fees. A federal district court granted the FTC summary judgment on all counts in 2023, and a federal appeals court upheld that judgment and the permanent injunction in 2026. The settlement funds will be used to provide redress to harmed business customers.