City Sets First-Ever Minimum Wage for Restaurant Delivery Workers

Starting July 12, New York City’s app-based delivery workers must be paid at least $17.96 an hour, not including tips — the first such minimum pay-rate in the country for an industry that exploded in popularity during the pandemic. The increase, which will go into effect nearly two years after the City Council passed a set of bills designed to improve conditions for the workers, was announced by Mayor Eric Adams over the weekend.

Ligia Guallpa, executive director of the Worker’s Justice Project, called the move a “historic moment for New York City” — as labor organizers across the country call for better pay and improved working conditions for gig workers, who often face unreliable earnings and little safety protections.

“This rule will set the pay floor for all the essential deliveristas who work tirelessly — whether through a pandemic, a snowstorm or wildfire smoke — and who have been denied a living wage for far too long,” Guallpa said in a statement. “While there’s still work to do, a minimum pay rate for food delivery workers will transform the lives of thousands of families across the city and deliver long overdue justice for deliveristas.” Read more from the AP, THE CITY, NBC New York, Crains, The Verge, and The New York Times.