Uber, DoorDash, and Grubhub suffered a legal blow yesterday when a judge ruled against the food delivery companies in their attempt to obstruct New York City’s new minimum wage law. All three of the businesses, as well as the delivery service Relay, filed a lawsuit last July to protest the city’s delivery worker pay mandate of nearly $17.96 an hour, as reported by NBC News. The minimum wage will increase to almost $20 in April 2025.
City officials are applauding the ruling against DoorDash, Uber, and Grubhub. They say the needs of the workers should trump all else.
“We are grateful for the tireless advocacy of so many delivery workers who fought hard to make today a reality,” Vilda Vera Mayuga, commissioner of the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, said in a statement. “Delivery workers, like all workers, deserve fair pay for their labor and to be able to support themselves and their loved ones.”
While denying the petitions filed by Uber, DoorDash, and Grubhub, acting New York Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Moyne granted a preliminary injunction to Relay, which will be able to continue its fight. Justice Moyne stated that unlike the other corporations, Relay is unable to instantaneously increase the fees it charges restaurants and will require more time to renegotiate its contracts.
Relay’s CEO Alex Blum said its couriers “already earn more than $30 per hour, and today’s ruling confirms what we have been saying all along – that our business model is unique and different.”
However, each company will still be able to choose whether they pay employees hourly, based on the number hours logged in-app, or per delivery.
