Uber Eats and two other food delivery platforms have agreed to pay a combined $5.2 million in restitution to thousands of New York City workers who were allegedly underpaid or wrongfully deactivated. The settlement comes after an investigation by the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) found widespread violations of the city's minimum wage rules.
The bulk of the settlement, approximately $3.1 million, will be paid by Uber Eats to roughly 48,000 workers across the city. This amount includes over $350,000 in civil penalties and fees, as well as hundreds of worker reinstatements for those who were wrongfully deactivated between December 2023 and September 2024.
Fantuan, another food delivery platform, will pay more than $468,000 to nearly 300 workers and $52,000 in penalties. Meanwhile, HungryPanda owes over $1,100 in restitution to more than 1,000 workers and $106,000 in penalties.
The settlement marks a significant shift for the city's approach to regulating app-based businesses, with officials emphasizing their commitment to protecting workers' rights. "The era of giant corporations juicing profits by underpaying workers is over," said DCWP Commissioner Sam Levine.
The deal comes as the Mamdani administration increases enforcement of labor regulations, particularly in the gig economy sector. The city has been cracking down on companies that fail to comply with new worker protection laws, including a recent lawsuit against delivery platform Motoclick and warnings to more than 60 companies about complying with new regulations.
In related news, a Manhattan federal judge recently denied Uber Eats' and DoorDash's request to block the city from implementing new tipping rules for delivery workers. Under the new rule, app customers must be given the option to tip workers at checkout, with a default of 10%, rather than after placing their orders.
The settlement also marks an increase in minimum pay rates for app-based delivery workers, with the city's minimum rate rising to $22.13 an hour on April 1 – a 3.2% adjustment for inflation between the end of 2024 and 2025. Additionally, a new regulation extended minimum wage requirements to grocery delivery apps like Instacart.
A spokesperson for Uber Eats stated that the company is "glad the matter is resolved" and has agreed to pay more than the amount owed. However, Fantuan did not respond to requests for comment on its settlement agreement.
The bulk of the settlement, approximately $3.1 million, will be paid by Uber Eats to roughly 48,000 workers across the city. This amount includes over $350,000 in civil penalties and fees, as well as hundreds of worker reinstatements for those who were wrongfully deactivated between December 2023 and September 2024.
Fantuan, another food delivery platform, will pay more than $468,000 to nearly 300 workers and $52,000 in penalties. Meanwhile, HungryPanda owes over $1,100 in restitution to more than 1,000 workers and $106,000 in penalties.
The settlement marks a significant shift for the city's approach to regulating app-based businesses, with officials emphasizing their commitment to protecting workers' rights. "The era of giant corporations juicing profits by underpaying workers is over," said DCWP Commissioner Sam Levine.
The deal comes as the Mamdani administration increases enforcement of labor regulations, particularly in the gig economy sector. The city has been cracking down on companies that fail to comply with new worker protection laws, including a recent lawsuit against delivery platform Motoclick and warnings to more than 60 companies about complying with new regulations.
In related news, a Manhattan federal judge recently denied Uber Eats' and DoorDash's request to block the city from implementing new tipping rules for delivery workers. Under the new rule, app customers must be given the option to tip workers at checkout, with a default of 10%, rather than after placing their orders.
The settlement also marks an increase in minimum pay rates for app-based delivery workers, with the city's minimum rate rising to $22.13 an hour on April 1 – a 3.2% adjustment for inflation between the end of 2024 and 2025. Additionally, a new regulation extended minimum wage requirements to grocery delivery apps like Instacart.
A spokesperson for Uber Eats stated that the company is "glad the matter is resolved" and has agreed to pay more than the amount owed. However, Fantuan did not respond to requests for comment on its settlement agreement.
just thinking about this $5.2 million settlement makes me so relieved for all those NYC workers who were being exploited by these food delivery platforms! like, can you even imagine working for Uber Eats or one of the other companies and not getting paid correctly? 
it's crazy to think that there was a whole investigation going on behind the scenes, making sure these big corporations follow the rules. kudos to the DCWP and the city for taking action and standing up for workers' rights! 
especially with the new tipping rule and increased minimum pay rate... it's all about fairness and equality now 
i mean, you gotta feel for those guys who were deactivated without pay or underpaid like crazy 
and the city's all about making sure companies don't get away with it 
so yeah, this settlement is a big deal and a major step forward for workers' rights 
especially since DoorDash got knocked down on their attempt to block those new tipping rules 
It's about time someone brought some accountability to the gig economy, where workers have been struggling for too long 
ugh, don't even get me started on those delivery times.
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. It's not fair that companies can just juke profits by underpaying workers - we need to make sure they're held accountable! 
. It's about time customers are given the option to tip their workers at checkout rather than after placing orders. And I'm excited to see minimum pay rates rising to $22.13 an hour on April 1 - that's a big adjustment for inflation 
. Anyway, this settlement marks a huge shift in how the city regulates app-based businesses and I'm all for it! 
and I'm still trying to figure out how to use it lol. so like what's up with Uber Eats and stuff? they're paying 5.2 million dollars to NYC workers who were underpaid or wrongfully deactivated... that's crazy right? 
finally someone's being held accountable for underpaying workers lol who knew the city was gonna crack down so hard on those gig economy companies 
and I'm low-key loving that they're making it mandatory for customers to tip workers at checkout it's about time we prioritize worker fairness 
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. Like, I know the gig economy can be tough for workers, but $5.2 million in restitution is a huge deal! It's about time these companies started taking responsibility for their actions 
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. But for now, I think it's a huge win for workers everywhere 
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. i mean, it's not like these workers didn't deserve better - they're the ones doing all the hard work, driving around, delivering food, while these platforms get to reap all the profits 
. anyway, I guess it's a start, right? 
let's keep pushing for better labor protections and higher pay rates across all industries 
. The city needs to keep pushing these companies to treat their workers with respect and pay them fairly. We need more moderators like me keeping an eye on this stuff 
. I mean, come on $5.2 million isn't even that much considering how many people are affected...and what's up with the fine print? Did the city really have to make them pay so much in penalties too? It's all just a big game of corporate chicken.
especially with all the workers who were wrongfully deactivated lol what a nightmare that must've been 
idk how u can mess with ppl like that tho 
especially now we got new tipping rules coming in too