Topline
New York State Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Moyne handed a win to three delivery food giants and one local company Friday after they sued to block a New York City law that would’ve raised the minimum wage for app-based delivery drivers—like Uber Eats or Postmates—to nearly $18 an hour, temporarily keeping the law from taking effect and delivering a blow to the burgeoning movement for expanding the workers’ employment protections.
A delivery man bikes with a food bag from Grubhub on April 21, 2021, in New York. Uber Eats, … [+]
Key Facts
Moyne ruled the law will not go into effect until after lawyers from the city and from the delivery companies—Uber Inc., DoorDash, GrubHub Holdings Inc. and Relay Delivery—make additional filings in the case, Bloomberg reported.
The companies argued in their lawsuit, filed Thursday, that they could be irreparably harmed by the law and that the added costs of higher wages could hurt opportunities for workers and pass on costs to customers and restaurants.
The law would have set the minimum wage for app-based workers at the higher of either $17.96 per hour or 50 cents every minute spent on a delivery, excluding tips.
Moyne scheduled the next hearing in the case for July 31.
Crucial Quote
“Delivery workers, like all workers, deserve fair pay for their labor, and we are disappointed that Uber, DoorDash, GrubHub, and Relay disagree,” New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, which drafted the law, told multiple news organizations including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal Thursday. “These workers brave thunderstorms, extreme heat events and risk their lives to deliver for New Yorkers — and we remain committed to delivering for them.”
Key Background
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced in June the law would take effect July 12, almost two years after the City Council passed a slate of legislation aimed at improving conditions for delivery drivers in the city. New York City has more than 60,000 food delivery workers that are paid an average of about $11 an hour with tips and expenses, according to the Times—less than New York’s $15 minimum wage for non-tipped workers. In addition to saying the law will hurt the industry’s workers and customers, the companies’ lawsuit argues the methodology is flawed. Compensating workers for time spent logged into the app would be a bad methodology, they said, as workers typically download multiple apps and use them simultaneously to maximize the amount of deliveries they can take.
Tangent
This isn’t the first time delivery companies have waged legal battles against New York City. The city is already facing two other ongoing lawsuits from the same companies. Uber Inc., DoorDash and GrubHub Holdings Inc. sued the city in 2021 over a law that capped the commissions apps can charge restaurants, and DoorDash sued over a different rule that requires it to share more data with restaurants in the city, the Journal has reported.
Further Reading
New Minimum Wage Rule for NYC Food Delivery Workers Temporarily Halted by Judge (Bloomberg)
Food-Delivery Companies Sue New York City Over Minimum Pay Law (The New York Times)
DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub Sue New York City Over Minimum-Wage Law (The Wall Street Journal)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/willskipworth/2023/07/07/ny-judge-halts-law-that-wouldve-raised-minimum-wage-for-app-based-delivery-drivers-in-nyc/