App-based restaurant delivery workers in New York City will now earn a minimum of $21.44 per hour before tips, improving conditions for more than 60,000 delivery workers.
The updated rate, which went into effect April 1, is part of a gradual rollout that began last year, according to a press release.
Before the city implemented a minimum pay standard, app-based delivery workers earned an average of just $5.39 an hour before tips, according to the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP). Since enforcement began in December, apps have paid workers an estimated $700 million in additional wages.
“Our administration works every day to help put money back into New Yorkers’ pockets, and that includes our city’s delivery workers," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. "Our first-in-the-nation minimum pay rate is doing exactly that, giving hundreds of millions of dollars back to deliver workers who drive at all hours of the day and through all types of weather to get New Yorkers the food and goods they need. We are proud to have not only spearheaded this groundbreaking policy, but to have made life easier for delivery workers and their families all across the five boroughs.”
The rate is designed to align with the state’s minimum wage, while accounting for the lack of traditional benefits and the cost of essential equipment used by delivery workers.
DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga welcomed the adjustments and commended delivery workers and advocates who called for the increase.
“Delivery workers, like all workers, deserve to be paid fair wages for their labor,” said Mayuga. “The pay rate has been a success, increasing pay for hard-working New Yorkers and keeping restaurant delivery profitable for the apps that rely on these workers."
The initiative stems from Local Law 115, passed by the City Council in 2021, which required DCWP to study the pay and working conditions of app-based restaurant delivery workers.
