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DoorDash $131.5 Million Settlement Puts New Focus on Gig Economy Regulation

By  |  September 22, 2026
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DoorDash Inc. has agreed to pay $131.5 million to resolve a New York City investigation into allegations that delivery workers were underpaid or received compensation late, according to Reuters. The agreement represents what Mayor Zohran Mamdani described as the largest labor-enforcement action in the city’s history.

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    Under the settlement, nearly $115 million will be distributed to roughly 264,000 delivery workers, known by the company as Dashers, Reuters reported. The median payment is expected to be about $48, while DoorDash will also pay a $16.7 million civil penalty.

    The agreement adds to regulatory pressure on app-based delivery companies operating in New York, where city officials have sought to strengthen compensation protections for workers. New York City currently requires covered delivery apps to pay at least $22.13 an hour, excluding tips, for qualifying delivery time, according to the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.

    A substantial portion of the settlement concerns how DoorDash calculated compensation when workers were logged into its platform but weren’t actively completing deliveries. About $83 million of the settlement addresses that dispute, while another $12.3 million relates to payments that were either missed or delayed, according to Reuters.

    DoorDash acknowledged mistakes in its handling of worker compensation. In a statement reported by Reuters, the San Francisco-based company said some Dashers had been underpaid or paid late and acknowledged responsibility for the errors. The company said the problems weren’t intentional.

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    Read more: DoorDash Wins EU Approval for $3.9 Billion Deliveroo Takeover

    DoorDash attributed some of the discrepancies to complicated delivery scenarios, including orders crossing New York City boundaries, trips involving multiple pickup or drop-off points, and orders that were canceled or only partially completed, Reuters reported. Technical problems and incomplete banking information for some workers also contributed to payment errors, according to the company. DoorDash said it has corrected the technical issues.

    The settlement will subject the company to additional oversight. DoorDash agreed to provide New York City with detailed compensation data every month for three years, according to Reuters.

    Mamdani, speaking at a news conference, framed the agreement as part of the city’s broader effort to enforce labor standards across delivery platforms. He accused DoorDash of using what he called “greedy algorithms” and said the company had failed for years to properly account for workers’ time, Reuters reported.

    The case follows wider scrutiny of the industry’s compensation and tipping practices. Earlier this year, the city’s consumer and worker protection agency accused DoorDash and Uber Eats of using interface designs that it said contributed to delivery workers losing more than $550 million in tips, according to Reuters.

    DoorDash and other major delivery platforms have repeatedly clashed with New York City regulators over rules governing the industry, including tipping requirements and access to customer data, Reuters reported. City officials declined to say whether Uber Eats and Grubhub are complying with the pay law at issue in the DoorDash settlement. Uber declined Reuters’ request for comment, while Grubhub didn’t immediately respond.

    Source: Reuters