New York City has established a new minimum wage for food delivery workers who deliver for platforms like Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub and Relay. It should be a historic win for gig workers, but both delivery workers and companies are unhappy with it.
Many workers, labor rights activists and even the city’s comptroller say the minimum pay – just under $18 per hour – is not nearly enough to cover the costs of living in NYC or the costs of being a delivery driver. App-based gig companies say the ruling will cause unintended consequences for workers, and a spokesperson for DoorDash told TechCrunch that “litigation isn’t off the table.”
Of course, there are those who say that perfect shouldn’t be the enemy of good, and plenty of delivery workers are in support of the ruling. NYC’s delivery workers currently make about $7.09 an hour on average, according to a release from the city, so the new ruling is certainly a step up. But it’s clear that this contentious issue will further divide the two camps.
Companies that use delivery workers will get to choose between one of two minimum pay rate options outlined by the city. The first option requires companies to pay a worker at least $17.96 per hour, excluding tips, for time spent connected to the app, which includes time spent waiting for a gig. This will increase with inflation next year to about $19.96 per hour.
The other option involves apps paying $0.50 per minute of active time, exclusive of trips. Active time happens from the...
This story is the second in an ongoing series on the Cost of Fraud, as Open the Books tallies the hidden fees on American tax returns. Click here to read the first story on fraudulent autism billi...