New York finalises US$131m DoorDash settlement over worker underpayments
About 260,000 delivery workers are set to share US$115m under a settlement resolving allegations that DoorDash failed to meet minimum-pay requirements.
New York City has finalised a settlement worth more than US$131m with DoorDash over alleged underpayments to delivery workers, in what city materials describe as the largest settlement of its kind in a US city.
About US$115m will go directly to roughly 260,000 affected workers. The remaining US$16m will cover civil penalties and other costs. The city government said compensation would be calculated at 200 per cent of amounts owed under the settlement terms.
A consent order provided by the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection found that some workers were not paid the legally required minimum between December 2023 and June 2026. DoorDash acknowledged that about US$6.6m in payments did not reach drivers and that more than US$5.7m in payments were late.
The compensation formula distinguishes between unpaid and late-paid wages. A worker owed US$1,000 who received nothing would receive US$3,000, while a worker paid US$1,000 late would receive US$2,000, according to the city’s release.
New York introduced a minimum-pay rule for covered app-based delivery work in 2023. The rate was initially set at US$17.96 an hour and was scheduled to rise to US$19.96 in 2025. DoorDash and the city said affected workers had been identified, with notifications expected in the coming weeks.
