On June 20, the NYC Mayor Eric Adams's Administration made headlines for proposing a new minimum hourly wage of $17.96 for the 65,000 app-based restaurant delivery workers in New York City, making the city the first in the country to do so.
“These apps currently pay workers far below the minimum wage, and this pay rate would help lift thousands of working New Yorkers and their families out of poverty,” said Vilda Vera Mayuga, the commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
Yet, just days before its enforcement on July 12, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Nicholas Moyne stalled the rollout after app-based delivery companies such as Uber, DoorDash and Grubhub sued the city.
Now, as the end of July approach and with little information on when or if the law will go through, delivery workers and the groups that support them are feeling frustrated and back to square one.
According to a report by the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection last November, food delivery workers make $14.18 with tips and $7.09 an hour without tips. After expenses, the earning is $11.12 an hour with tips and $4.03 without, which means that consumers are largely responsible for the livelihood of the workers, not the companies.
“There is simply no justification for allowing multi-billion dollar apps to continue to pay sub-minimum wages," said NYC Comptroller Brad Lander in a statement. “I’m angry about the months-long delay in implementation, which violates the law and...
In certain instances, it is evident that misinformation is created and disseminated on social media by exploiting sensitive issues and presenting unverified claims as factual events. Presented bel...