crimes and sexual offenses, as well as major driving violations. yet in case after case, convicted felons have been approved to drive anyway. in maryland, california and massachusetts, government agencies did additional screening and found what add up to thousands of drivers with disqualifying criminal records, even sexual offenders, approved to work for uber. in texas, approved uber drivers included a murderer on parole and a convicted felon once accused, though not convicted of seeking to smuggle rocket launchers into the middle east. he is now sentenced to 25 years for sexually assaulting a passenger. uber s sexual assault victims like this woman say uber must improve how it screens drivers. if they really want to put themselves out there as the safe ride home, they should really make sure that they are putting these people out there that are going to get you home safely. reporter: uber s response to the problems and its background checks is that the company has
oversight in many states, even writing the laws. cnn s investigation reviewed all 43 states that have laws or rules on driver background checks, and they are strikingly similar. all but massachusetts leave background checks up to uber. in 31 states, the laws passed reflect uber s recommended wording on driver screening in some cases almost word for word. this e-mail from an uber lobbyist to a wyoming lawmaker shows how influential uber can be. the uber lobbyist says they have two major issues with a draft of the bill, including the criminal background check provision. the lobbyist tells the lawmaker, change it back to the model language. it was, three former uber employees who worked on policy tell cnn uber wants to control its screening process to get drivers on the road as soon as possible. georgia legislator alan powell says uber s attitude is states have no business screening its
abusing passengers. cnn s senior investigative correspondent drew griffin broke that story for us and he s continuing to look at uber s practices and whether your ride home is safe. drew, what more are you learning? uber s background check system is failing and in thousands of cases, criminals are behind the wheel driving for uber. when colorado s public safety commissioner heard about a man who was allegedly assaulted by an uber driver, he demanded a list from uber of all its drivers with disqualifying records. frankly, we were shocked by what we found. reporter: the list he got from uber included 12 uber drivers convicted of felonies and others with duis or driving on suspended licenses. what does that tell you about the background process? the background process as it is in law right now doesn t work. reporter: according to uber, the policy disqualifies drivers convicted of felonies, violent