The issue of food delivery apps underpaying their workers has been going on for quite some time, from Uber Eats facing criminal complaints for wage violations in Taiwan, to DoorDash underpaying workers in New York City.
Here’s the funny thing: DoorDash has admitted they do so, saying, “We screwed up!”
“Simply put, we screwed up,” DoorDash told the RSF team. “Our mistakes meant some Dashers were underpaid or paid late.”
But, the world’s number one food delivery is patching things up by paying a $132 million settlement to New York City regulators after failing to compensate thousands of workers correctly, or on time.
This agreement came after the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and a city investigation proved these wage violations, with a significant share of the payout lost or given delayed.
This joins other lawsuits evaluating the pay patterns of food delivery apps, including Uber Eats and Grubhub.
Most of the settlement of DoorDash, amounting to $83 million, are to resolve a disagreement over how to calculate the pay for the time the workers spent online between deliveries. Another issue is the idle time between orders, such as waiting for the customer to arrive at the doorstep. Traditionally, food delivery apps will only pay for the time the drivers are logged in the app, but the New York ruling requires them now to pay for all the time they are logged in the app.
Would you believe this? Let’s take a look.
First is the official statement from DoorDash, stating, “As a Dasher, your earnings include base pay per offer, 100 percent of customer tips, and any active promotions.” Dashers are the drivers for DoorDash.
And, according to the website TripLog, most Dashers report earning between $15 and $30 an hour before expenses in 2026, “though this range varies significantly.”
So, here you go. DoorDash is reportedly blaming the “complex changes” to the minimum wage in the state of New York, introduced in 2023.
Under the minimum pay standard for app-based delivery workers, wages differ depending on the county, tipping, and how many people work for the company.
Another blaming points are the technical glitches and multi-stop delivery routes, causing the firm to pay them not right according to the perspective of the drivers, as RSF previously discussed.
The company is stating further, “While these mistakes weren’t intentional, that doesn’t make them okay.”
They are also admitting that around 270,000 workers were affected, but they are insisting that only under one-percent of overall transactions have been impacted.
What are your thoughts? Open your account now on RSF to share your insights! You may also share this story with your family and friends! DoorDash is a food delivery app that makes it easier for consumers to order food, groceries, and the things they love, so long as they are available on the app. They order online, pay online, track their order online, and receive the order straight at their doorstep. Okay, ‘til then!