In Response To The New Minimum Wage, UberEATS, DoorDash & Grubhub Sue NYC

The debate over fair minimum wage for delivery app food workers in NYC is heating up. As we previously reported, a new ruling has passed which forces delivery apps to update their payment systems.

Currently, the city has over 60,000 delivery workers that make on average $7.09 an hour. With the new wage, delivery workers in the U.S. have the potential to triple their earnings at $17.96 an hour.

In response to the new ruling, several major delivery app companies attempted to get a temporary restraining order in Manhattan’s Supreme Court, to no avail. Claiming that the new minimum wage would cause customers to pay more, Uber spokesperson Josh Gold said in a prepared statement, “The city’s entire rule depends on the false assumption that restaurants make no money on deliveries — it must be paused before damaging restaurants, consumers, and the couriers it purports to protect.”

While Uber filed its own lawsuit, DoorDash and Grubhub filed jointly. In a statement sent to The New York Times, Vilda Vera Mayuga, the commissioner of New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, said that delivery workers “deserve fair pay for their labor,” adding, “These workers brave thunderstorms, extreme heat events and risk their lives to deliver for New Yorkers — and we remain committed to delivering for them.” 

Despite the new ruling, delivery apps are allowed flexibility in how they choose to pay workers. As long as they meet the minimum wage requirements, companies are allowed to pay per delivery, per hour, or using some other system.