Your Favorite Food Delivery App Is Probably Suing New York City

In June 2023, New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed a law that added significant stability to the lives of numerous food delivery workers in the city. That law guaranteed them a minimum wage — one that began at $17.96 per hour and would rise over time, reaching (as per Gothamist’s reporting) $19.96 by 2025. For a group of workers who have historically faced numerous challenges in their daily tasks, this law, which was set to go into effect on July 12, felt like a significant improvement.

Not everyone was thrilled by the city’s legislation, however. Now, The Washington Post reports that three of the largest food delivery companies — Uber, DoorDash and Grubhub (the last of which also owns Seamless) — are filing a lawsuit to block it from being implemented.

As the Post reports, Grubhub and DoorDash have taken the position that the data used to back the new law is unreliable, with Uber Ears arguing that restaurants will suffer as a result of the law’s implementation. In a statement, Grubhub told the Post that the company “cannot support a solution that has such unintended implications for those who rely on food delivery.”

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The Workers Justice Project, a nonprofit that has been advocating for the minimum wage law, responded to the lawsuit with a statement in which they referred to the behavior of the companies filing the lawsuit as “unconscionable.” “This latest legal maneuver to prop up their business model comes at the expense of workers who can barely survive in a city facing a major affordability crisis,” the organization added.