New York City Settles Disputes Over Minimum Wage for Food Delivery Workers
The city of New York has reached a $5.2 million settlement with three food delivery apps, Uber Eats, Fantuan, and HungryPanda, over allegations that the platforms failed to pay workers minimum wage or comply with other labor regulations.
According to City Hall, Uber will pay out nearly $3.1 million in restitution to approximately 48,000 workers, who were allegedly subjected to wrongful deactivation from the platform between December 2023 and September 2024. The settlement also includes $350,000 in civil penalties and fees, as well as the reinstatement of hundreds of workers.
Fantuan will pay more than $468,000 in restitution to nearly 300 workers, while HungryPanda owes over $1 million in restitution to over 1,000 workers. The city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) alleged that these platforms violated minimum wage rules, including the failure to pay delivery workers for time spent on canceled trips.
"We're glad this matter is resolved," said Josh Gold, a spokesperson for Uber. "After being notified by the city in August 2024, we immediately corrected the issue and agreed to pay more than the amount owed."
However, not all parties have come out in favor of the settlement. Aboubacar Ki, a delivery worker and organizer with the Los Deliveristas group, expressed frustration that workers were subjected to such treatment for so long.
"When workers speak up and they are met with silence, retaliation, or automatically removed from the app – but no more," Ki said at a City Hall press conference on Friday. "The era of app impunity is over. We're 80,000 strong, and we'll be holding you accountable."
DCWP Commissioner Sam Levine hailed the settlement as a victory for workers' rights, saying that it marks an end to the practice of companies "juicing profits by underpaying workers." The agency has been increasing enforcement of labor regulations in recent months, particularly for gig economy workers.
The settlement comes on the heels of legislation passed by the City Council last week, which protects app-based for-hire drivers against sudden deactivation from platforms like Uber and Lyft. This law was compared to being fired without notice by workers and their advocates.
Additionally, the city is set to increase its minimum pay rate for app-based delivery workers to $22.13 an hour on April 1, a 3.2% adjustment for inflation between the end of 2024 and 2025. The DCWP has also extended minimum wage requirements to grocery delivery apps, such as Instacart.
The city of New York has reached a $5.2 million settlement with three food delivery apps, Uber Eats, Fantuan, and HungryPanda, over allegations that the platforms failed to pay workers minimum wage or comply with other labor regulations.
According to City Hall, Uber will pay out nearly $3.1 million in restitution to approximately 48,000 workers, who were allegedly subjected to wrongful deactivation from the platform between December 2023 and September 2024. The settlement also includes $350,000 in civil penalties and fees, as well as the reinstatement of hundreds of workers.
Fantuan will pay more than $468,000 in restitution to nearly 300 workers, while HungryPanda owes over $1 million in restitution to over 1,000 workers. The city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) alleged that these platforms violated minimum wage rules, including the failure to pay delivery workers for time spent on canceled trips.
"We're glad this matter is resolved," said Josh Gold, a spokesperson for Uber. "After being notified by the city in August 2024, we immediately corrected the issue and agreed to pay more than the amount owed."
However, not all parties have come out in favor of the settlement. Aboubacar Ki, a delivery worker and organizer with the Los Deliveristas group, expressed frustration that workers were subjected to such treatment for so long.
"When workers speak up and they are met with silence, retaliation, or automatically removed from the app – but no more," Ki said at a City Hall press conference on Friday. "The era of app impunity is over. We're 80,000 strong, and we'll be holding you accountable."
DCWP Commissioner Sam Levine hailed the settlement as a victory for workers' rights, saying that it marks an end to the practice of companies "juicing profits by underpaying workers." The agency has been increasing enforcement of labor regulations in recent months, particularly for gig economy workers.
The settlement comes on the heels of legislation passed by the City Council last week, which protects app-based for-hire drivers against sudden deactivation from platforms like Uber and Lyft. This law was compared to being fired without notice by workers and their advocates.
Additionally, the city is set to increase its minimum pay rate for app-based delivery workers to $22.13 an hour on April 1, a 3.2% adjustment for inflation between the end of 2024 and 2025. The DCWP has also extended minimum wage requirements to grocery delivery apps, such as Instacart.
. like they're just going to pay out some money and call it a day? I mean, thousands of workers are being affected here, and they're talking about 80,000-strong organization... how much more evidence do we need before someone gets hurt? 
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. $22.13 an hour is a great step forward, but I wish it was higher, considering the cost of living in NYC is already super high 
. We should all be supporting these workers and advocating for better working conditions 
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. It's not right that they had to go through all that stress and hassle because of the company's mistake 
. I'm glad the city is taking action and making sure these workers get paid what they're owed $ 
. It's about time we start treating these workers with more respect and fairness 
.
And what's with the $5.2 million? Is that really enough to make up for all the hours those 48k+ workers lost out on? 
they had the audacity to deactivate ppl from the app without pay and now they're getting roasted by the city for it 
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. As long as we keep consuming and swiping, these corporations will keep taking advantage of us. We need to be more mindful of our impact on the people who are behind the scenes 
Maybe then we'd start to see some real change.