COMP NEWS – New York City has set a new minimum pay-rate for app food delivery workers. The law is expected to more than double the effective wage of workers for services like Uber Eats and DoorDash.

New York City on Sunday announced a new minimum pay-rate for app food delivery workers amid a rise in use of services like Uber Eats and DoorDash since the pandemic.

Manhattan’s 60,000 food delivery workers currently make on average about $7.09 an hour, according to a news release from the city, explaining the new pay-rate will allow them to eventually earn at least $19.96 an hour. The pay will increase to $17.96 an hour on July 12 then increase again to nearly $20 an hour in April 2025.

Pay will be adjusted annually for inflation, the city added.

The city says delivery apps will have flexibility in how they pay delivery workers the new minimum rate. As long as workers make the minimum amount, apps can choose to pay them per trip, per hour worked or through their own formula.

“Our delivery workers have consistently delivered for us — now, we are delivering for them,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. “This new minimum pay rate, up by almost $13.00/hour, will guarantee these workers and their families can earn a living, access greater economic stability, and help keep our city’s legendary restaurant industry thriving.”

The new laws will specify a flat rate that workers must be paid per minute worked, not including tips.

Apps that pay workers for the time they are waiting for a trip and their trip time must pay at least $0.30 a minute once the changes start in 2023. Apps that only pay once a driver accepts a delivery trip will have to pay at least $0.50 a minute, the release said. The rates do not include tips.

“While there’s still work to do, a minimum pay rate for food delivery workers will transform the lives of thousands of families across the city and deliver long overdue justice for deliveristas,” Ligia Guallpa, executive director of the Worker’s Justice Project, said in a statement. The group works to advocate for delivery workers in the city.

However, DoorDash said in a statement Sunday that it is considering litigation to push back against the city’s “extreme policy,” saying it goes beyond the standards other industries are held to – though it’s not opposed to a minimum wage for delivery workers.

To read more about New York City’s new minimum wage for app food delivery workers, click here.

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