DoorDash Must Pay $131.5 Million After NYC Finds Delivery Workers Were Underpaid
More than 260,000 New York City delivery workers are set to receive money after an investigation found problems with how DoorDash paid them for their work.
On Sept. 22, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) announced a $131.5 million settlement with DoorDash. Over $115 million will go directly to workers, while the remainder covers penalties and other costs.
The investigation began after dozens of delivery workers reported either receiving payments late or not receiving them at all. Workers Justice Project helped many file their complaints, and DCWP eventually expanded the investigation by examining DoorDash’s pay records.
The signed consent order says DCWP found enough evidence to support violations involving missing pay, late pay, and “DoorDash failed to pay the minimum pay rate set forth in 6 R.C.N.Y. 7-810
(“Minimum Pay Rule”) to certain members of the Class in pay periods from December 4, 2023 to June 28, 2026.” The agreement notes that those findings were made without a court ruling.
How The Pay Problems Happened
New York City currently requires covered delivery apps to pay workers at least $22.13 per hour before tips, according to DCWP’s minimum-pay rules.
DCWP says DoorDash left certain work time out when calculating whether workers received that minimum. The consent order identifies examples including some canceled deliveries, portions of trips outside New York City, and certain periods when workers were logged into the app and available for deliveries.
The scale of the investigation was enormous. According to DCWP, its team reviewed more than 152 million payment transactions covering about 110 million working hours.
DoorDash acknowledges making mistakes that resulted in some workers being underpaid or receiving their money late. In its own statement concerning the settlement, the company says technical problems and complicated deliveries contributed to those errors. DoorDash maintains that it had a legitimate disagreement with the city over how some time spent logged into the app between deliveries should be calculated.
More Than $115 Million Will Go To Workers
The settlement agreement requires DoorDash to put about $115.5 million into a fund for eligible workers. Another $11.3 million is a civil penalty, while $4.3 million will go to the New York Community Trust to support organizations working on delivery-worker law compliance.
Eligible workers do not need to file a claim or provide their own evidence. DCWP’s settlement information page says the department has already identified the people owed money using DoorDash’s records.
Most affected workers will receive personalized notices explaining their payments. They can choose an electronic transfer or receive a check by mail, with another smaller round of payments planned for early 2027.
DoorDash will also face three years of monitoring. Specifically, “DoorDash must submit detailed data reports to DCWP every month for three years,” as outlined by DCWP. The settlement further requires software changes intended to prevent similar problems and internal oversight of the company’s compliance with New York City’s delivery-worker laws.
