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By: Clare Baierl
Three months have passed since the New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division upheld legislation enacted over the summer allowing enforcement of the nation’s first minimum pay rate for third-party, app-based restaurant delivery workers.
The ruling mandated that popular delivery platforms, including Uber, DoorDash, and Grubhub, pay their workers at least $17.96 per hour, increasing to $19.96 per hour when fully implemented in 2025, with annual adjustments for inflation.
This ruling nearly triples the old minimum wage of $7.09 for app-based delivery workers.
Officials seem to be all in, with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, and Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga all expressing their approval of the court’s decision.
“Yet another promise made and promise kept by our administration on behalf of working New Yorkers,” said Mayor Adams, emphasizing the importance of holding apps accountable for fair compensation.
Commissioner Mayuga added, “The minimum pay rate of at least $17.96 per hour will help lift thousands of New Yorkers and their families out of poverty, while still allowing flexibility for both apps and workers.”
But do these happy sentiments paint the full picture?
Under the ruling, apps now have the flexibility to choose whether to pay their drivers hourly or per trip time. With per trip time, workers now earn approximately 55 cents per minute, adding up to $33 an hour.
Drivers are now claiming that the actual impact on their earnings is a lot more complicated than a simple pay raise.
The new hourly rate applies only to “active time” that drivers spend delivering food. If an order takes 15 minutes, the driver would be paid for only those minutes spent actively delivering a food order.
All other time spent working, including looking through the app to find orders, is not paid.
“Don’t let the $33 an hour make you think every delivery driver is making that just by turning on the app,” said an Uber driver who wished to remain anonymous.
“I was actually making more before the law,” said Manhattan driver Edward Lee. “I am very fast with my deliveries and because we are [now] paid by time this caps the amount we can possibly earn per hour.”
The experience differs from driver to driver. For some, the changes have had positive effects.
“Deliveries are more consistent for me,” said Grubhub driver DJ Prince, who “went from averaging $700 a week in tips to only getting around $40 a week.” Yet, as far as the money, “It equals out to be more or less the same.”
Whether drivers find themselves earning more or less in hourly wages, one undeniable outcome since the ruling is the noticeable scarcity of tips. Customers are asked to tip after the delivery as opposed to before.
Previously, drivers could filter out orders with little to no tip included.
“Before the new law there was a certain amount of excitement in finding a good order,” said Mr. Lee.
Many now claim that the entire tipping landscape is drastically different, with drivers reporting a significant decrease in tips received.
“Before this change, over 60% of my orders had tips,” said an anonymous driver. “Now, I’ve done 60 trips so far and only gotten 4 tips.”
Delivery workers are facing a mixed bag of experiences. While some appreciate the consistency of earnings due to the new pay structure, others lament the disappearance of promotions, quests, and surge pays.