by Donald Wood
Last updated: 3:00 PM ET, Fri January 6, 2017
On Friday, Massachusetts officials will begin doing background checks on tens of thousands of drivers who work for ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft.
According to The Associated Press, the background checks in Massachusetts-officials claim the tests are the most stringent in the United States-have been designed in part to eliminate registered sex offenders from driving for Uber and Lyft.
As part of an agreement with Massachusetts government officials, Uber and Lyft will perform multi-state criminal and driving checks for each employee, as well as check each driver against a national sex offender database.
In addition, officials in Massachusetts will also check each driver against the state's criminal, sex offender and motor vehicle registries. Any employee who fails the background checks is disqualified from being a driver for Uber and Lyft.
In recent months, several ride-hailing drivers have been "charged with rape, sexual assault and assault with intent to murder in Massachusetts," according to The AP.
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