By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh

On Friday, Grubhub, Doordash and UberEats were on the hot seat at a City Council hearing, in which seven laws were proposed to regulate the delivery business. As reported by the NY Post, the three- hour long City Council hearing featured complaints from delivery

drivers who griped about low tips and safety conditions. The proposed bills focused on safety and payment, with particular emphasis on gratuity and paycheck breakdowns for employees. Representatives from the food delivery apps were present, as were delivery drivers.

“We need protection against these greedy apps that care more about their profits than our safety,” Doordash deliveryman Antonio Solis told the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protections.

Last year, minimum wage laws for delivery workers, who had been considered essential workers during the pandemic, nearly tripled. Thereafter, Doordash and UberEats changed when they prompt customers to leave a tip, to after the order has already been placed.

The food delivery giants wanted to lighten the load on customers after having raised their own prices. City Council member Shaun Abreu said at Friday’s hearing that the move cost delivery workers an estimated $85 million in lost gratuities. Abreu proposed legislation that would require the apps to move the tipping page back to when the order is being placed. Abreu also took shots at how the apps disclose information about their pay rates, which changed after the minimum wage law took effect in April. “We want to know how people’s pay is being calculated,” Abreu said. “The fact that we are fighting these apps on this is insane.”

Meanwhile, Council member Oswald Feliz, introduced a proposal that would require delivery companies to provide free bikes to workers and to ensure that the bikes meet safety standards. “Last year we had 97 fires due to e-bikes,” Feliz said. “It’s not acceptable that [the big companies] look away and wait for someone else to resolve the issue.” If passed, New York would become the only city to implement a law forcing the apps to provide bikes.

Another proposed bill seeks to put the app companies on the hook to ensure that the mopeds are legally registered. A GrubHub representative pushed back on the proposal. “We are not the DMV or DOT and can’t enforce [that a moped] is properly registered and licensed,” the rep said.

Doordash responded with an email saying their customers have already pulled back because of the escalated delivery costs which came with the increase to the minimum wage. “We estimate that there have been more than 850,000 missed earnings opportunities for Dashers like you,” the email states. In the email, Doordash promised to eliminate tipping entirely if the proposals are enacted.

A spokesperson for Uber Eats told The Post that this year alone, customers have left $25 million in tips for the delivery drivers. “Instead of attempting to over-regulate one piece of the industry, the Council should focus on better pay and protections for the thousands of delivery workers who have no minimum wage, or a tipped minimum wage,” the rep said.