Food delivery companies sue New York City over minimum wage law

A handful of food delivery companies, including DoorDash and Uber Eats, filed a series of lawsuits on Thursday seeking to prevent New York City’s new minimum pay rate for app-based food delivery workers from going into effect next week.

The companies filed separate complaints in New York State Court claiming that the law, passed last month, would ultimately reduce the number of gig workers on each platform and raise consumer fees in New York.

“These are impacts that will often be felt by those who can least afford them: busy families who depend on the accessibility and convenience of delivery, small restaurants working tirelessly to grow their businesses, or delivery workers seeking opportunities for extra income to make ends meet,” DoorDash said in a blog post explaining the filing.

The company also claimed that the data the city used to conduct its research was biased and flawed. “Each of these missteps by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection made this earnings standard more problematic than the last, and the result has attracted criticism from consumers, merchants, and delivery workers,” DoorDash added.

Proponents of the new law say it will provide economic stability and improve working conditions. “Delivery workers, like all workers, deserve fair pay for their labor, and we are disappointed that Uber, DoorDash, Grubhub, and Relay disagree,” Vilda Vera Mayuga, head of the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, told the New York Post.

Delivery companies and officials have long battled over gig worker pay and employee classification, with lengthy legal proceedings often ensuing. In New York City, for example, food delivery platforms sued officials over a limit on fees put in place during the pandemic. DoorDash also sued over a data-sharing law. Delivery workers for platforms like Uber Eats and DoorDash in the area currently earn rates per trip that are set by their gig platforms. City officials estimated that workers are now making an average of $7.09 per hour. Starting next Wednesday, they were supposed to earn a minimum of $17.96, which would eventually increase to $19.96 by April 1, 2025.

DoorDash and Grubhub filed a joint lawsuit on the matter. Uber Eats and Relay, another food delivery company, each filed additional separate suits. An Uber Eats spokesperson confirmed the lawsuit but didn’t comment further.