DoorDash agreed to a $131.5 million New York City settlement over alleged delivery-worker pay violations. More than $115 million goes to workers, with over 260,000 expected to receive compensation; more than $16 million covers penalties and costs.
DoorDash acknowledged that some New York City Dashers were underpaid or paid late, but said the errors were unintentional and blamed technical bugs and complex deliveries. It said about $6.6 million in payments never reached workers and $5.7 million arrived late. More than $83 million of the settlement addresses a dispute over how to count workers’ logged-in time between deliveries; DoorDash said it believed its method was legal and practical but agreed to use the city’s approach. The city said the deal is the largest worker settlement in NYC history and the largest involving food-delivery workers in the U.S.
The city said its investigation reviewed more than 152 million payment transactions and 110 million working hours, and found DoorDash excluded some trip and on-call time from hours counted under the $22.13-per-hour minimum pay rate before tips. Workers need not file claims; personalized notices are expected in late October, with payments expected to begin this fall. DoorDash must provide monthly data to regulators for three years, make software changes and add internal controls. The company said it had already set aside the settlement’s full cost in earlier quarters, so it does not expect a new $131.5 million charge.
