[US] Mandatory $18 minimum wage for NYC food delivery workers

From July, food delivery workers in New York City will be paid nearly $18 an hour, as New York becomes the first US city to mandate a minimum wage for app-based restaurant employees, CBS News reports. 

Under the new law, delivery apps will be required to pay workers a minimum of $17.96 per hour, plus tips, by July 12. 

The rate will increase to $19.96 per hour by 2025 and pay will reportedly be indexed to inflation after that. 

The new minimum wage is a significant increase from delivery workers' current hourly rate of around $12, as calculated by the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP).

At a press conference announcing the change, Ligia Guallpa - executive director of the Workers' Justice Project - said, "Today marks a historic moment in our city's history. New York City's more than 60,000 app delivery workers, who are essential to our city, will soon be guaranteed a minimum pay." 

How apps decide to work out their workers' wages will reportedly be left for them to determine, as long as they reach the minimum pay.

While laying out the new rules, the mayor's office said, "Apps have the option to pay delivery workers per trip, per hour worked, or develop their own formulas, as long as their workers make the minimum pay rate of $19.96, on average,"

Apps that only pay per trip will need to pay approximately 50 cents per minute of trip time while apps that pay delivery workers for the entire time they're logged in - including waiting time - must pay approximately 30 cents per minute.

The current hourly minimum wage in New York City is $15. The new law reportedly sets app workers' pay higher to account for apps’ classification of delivery workers as independent contractors; meaning they pay higher taxes than regular employees and have other work-related expenses. 

Backlash

The delivery apps have pushed back against the minimum pay law. Grubhub said it was "disappointed in the DCWP's final rule, which will have serious adverse consequences for delivery workers in New York City." 

Uber spokesperson Josh Gold told CBS News, "The city isn't being honest with delivery workers - they want apps to fund the new wage by quote - 'increasing efficiency.' They are telling apps: eliminate jobs, discourage tipping, force couriers to go faster and accept more trips - that's how you'll pay for this." 

DoorDash reportedly called the new pay rule "deeply misguided" and stated that it was considering legal action. 

"Given the broken process that resulted in such an extreme final minimum pay rule, we will continue to explore all paths forward - including litigation - to ensure we continue to best support Dashers and protect the flexibility that so many delivery workers like them depend on," the company said.

In 2019, New York reportedly established minimum pay laws for Uber and Lyft drivers. 

In 2022, Seattle's city council passed legislation requiring app workers to be paid at least the city's minimum wage.

Source: CBS News

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

From July, food delivery workers in New York City will be paid nearly $18 an hour, as New York becomes the first US city to mandate a minimum wage for app-based restaurant employees, CBS News reports. 

Under the new law, delivery apps will be required to pay workers a minimum of $17.96 per hour, plus tips, by July 12. 

The rate will increase to $19.96 per hour by 2025 and pay will reportedly be indexed to inflation after that. 

The new minimum wage is a significant increase from delivery workers' current hourly rate of around $12, as calculated by the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP).

At a press conference announcing the change, Ligia Guallpa - executive director of the Workers' Justice Project - said, "Today marks a historic moment in our city's history. New York City's more than 60,000 app delivery workers, who are essential to our city, will soon be guaranteed a minimum pay." 

How apps decide to work out their workers' wages will reportedly be left for them to determine, as long as they reach the minimum pay.

While laying out the new rules, the mayor's office said, "Apps have the option to pay delivery workers per trip, per hour worked, or develop their own formulas, as long as their workers make the minimum pay rate of $19.96, on average,"

Apps that only pay per trip will need to pay approximately 50 cents per minute of trip time while apps that pay delivery workers for the entire time they're logged in - including waiting time - must pay approximately 30 cents per minute.

The current hourly minimum wage in New York City is $15. The new law reportedly sets app workers' pay higher to account for apps’ classification of delivery workers as independent contractors; meaning they pay higher taxes than regular employees and have other work-related expenses. 

Backlash

The delivery apps have pushed back against the minimum pay law. Grubhub said it was "disappointed in the DCWP's final rule, which will have serious adverse consequences for delivery workers in New York City." 

Uber spokesperson Josh Gold told CBS News, "The city isn't being honest with delivery workers - they want apps to fund the new wage by quote - 'increasing efficiency.' They are telling apps: eliminate jobs, discourage tipping, force couriers to go faster and accept more trips - that's how you'll pay for this." 

DoorDash reportedly called the new pay rule "deeply misguided" and stated that it was considering legal action. 

"Given the broken process that resulted in such an extreme final minimum pay rule, we will continue to explore all paths forward - including litigation - to ensure we continue to best support Dashers and protect the flexibility that so many delivery workers like them depend on," the company said.

In 2019, New York reportedly established minimum pay laws for Uber and Lyft drivers. 

In 2022, Seattle's city council passed legislation requiring app workers to be paid at least the city's minimum wage.

Source: CBS News

(Links and quotes via original reporting)