Grubhub, Uber Eats and DoorDash sue New York City over imminent minimum wage increase

Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub sued the City of New York on Thursday in order to block its new minimum pay rules for food delivery worker, as reported by the Associated Press. This comes on the heels of new regulations that would “nearly triple average earnings for app-based delivery workers in the coming years,” including a raise to $17.96 per hour to take effect later this month. This would be nearly triple the current rate of just over $7 per hour, before tips. 

Per the report, the food delivery services are seeking a temporary restraining order in the state’s Supreme Court in Manhattan to stop the changes from going into affect. The proposed hourly wage increase has been a controversial topic. Vilda Vera Mayuga, the commissioner of New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, told The New York Times that workers deserve fair pay for their labor and that  “these workers brave thunderstorms, extreme heat events and risk their lives to deliver to New Yorkers — and we remain to committed to delivering for them.” Meanwhile, Uber spokesperson Josh Gold said that “the city’s entire rule depends on the false assumption that restaurants make no money on deliveries — it must be paused before damaging restaurants, consumers and the couriers it purports to protect.” 

As reported by CNN, another concern is the “new regulation is legally flawed because it targets only meal-delivery services and not grocery-delivery services.” Delivery drivers are classified as independent contractors, not salaried employees, which accounts for the higher intended minimum wage. If the purposed minimum pay rate does go through, it’ll be the first of its kind nationwide.