NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a sweeping enforcement victory for app-based delivery workers on Tuesday, unveiling a $5.195 million settlement with three major delivery platforms and the reinstatement of up to 10,000 workers who were wrongly deactivated.
The agreement, secured by the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) under Commissioner Sam Levine, resolves violations of the City’s Minimum Pay Rate (MPR) for food delivery workers. Companies covered by the settlement include Uber Eats, Fantuan, and HungryPanda.
Restitution, Penalties, and Reinstatement
Under the settlement:
- Uber Eats will pay $3.15 million in restitution to more than 48,000 workers, plus $350,000 in civil penalties and fees. DCWP found Uber underpaid workers for time spent on canceled trips between December 2023 and September 2024. Uber also agreed to reinstate workers wrongfully deactivated during that period, potentially affecting as many as 10,000 people.
- Fantuan will provide over $468,000 in restitution to 285 workers, along with more than $52,000 in penalties, for minimum pay violations between December 2023 and February 2024.
- HungryPanda will pay $1,068,672 in restitution to more than 1,000 workers, plus over $106,000 in penalties, for violations between December 2023 and January 2024.
In total, more than 49,000 delivery workers will receive back pay, damages, and penalties through the enforcement action.
City Hall Draws a Line
Mayor Mamdani framed the settlement as an early signal of his administration’s posture toward worker protections. “There is zero tolerance for exploiting workers or gaming labor laws to pad corporate profits,” he said, adding that the agreement delivers “real relief” while putting companies on notice that violations will be met with swift accountability.
Commissioner Levine emphasized that enforcement went beyond returning wages. “We’re recovering damages and penalties to send a clear message: cheating workers will not be tolerated,” he said.
How the Violations Were Found
DCWP credited its compliance monitoring systems, which pair mandatory monthly reporting from apps with targeted outreach to workers, enabling investigators to quickly identify and correct violations. The approach ensures that workers receive owed wages, plus additional compensation for the harm caused.
Lawmakers and Worker Advocates Applaud
State and city officials praised the outcome. Kristen Gonzalez said the settlement proves the City will not “stand by while large corporations break the law,” while City Council leaders, including Harvey Epstein, Shaun Abreu, Sandy Nurse, and Jen Gutierrez, hailed the action as a turning point for immigrant and working-class deliveristas.
Advocates echoed that view. Ligia Guallpa, executive director of the Workers’ Justice Project and co-founder of Los Deliveristas Unidos, said the scale of violations showed exploitation was “baked into the app delivery business model,” and praised the City for pairing strong laws with real enforcement.
Broader Crackdown Continues
The settlement comes as the Mamdani administration accelerates oversight of delivery apps. Earlier this month, DCWP filed suit against Motoclick and issued compliance warnings to more than 60 companies, including DoorDash, Grubhub, Instacart, and Uber, regarding newly expanded worker protections.
Those protections include:
- Local Law 113, increasing pay transparency;
- Local Laws 123 and 124, extending minimum pay to third-party grocery delivery workers, guaranteeing timely weekly pay, and improving bathroom access;
- Local Laws 107 and 108 require tipping options at checkout.
DCWP also recently reported that interface design practices by DoorDash and Uber depressed tip earnings by an estimated $550 million, practices that are now illegal.
Minimum Pay Rate Set to Rise
New York City’s Minimum Pay Rate rule, created by Local Law 115 of 2021, raised average hourly earnings for app-based delivery workers without reducing delivery volume. The rate is scheduled to increase to $22.13 per hour for the first pay period on or after April 1, 2026, reflecting a 3.2% inflation adjustment from December 2024 to December 2025.
Sources:
Office of the Mayor of New York City; New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP); statements from City Council members and Worker’s Justice Project.
New York City News | By the Midtown Times Staff
