DoorDash will pay $131.5 million to settle claims that it underpaid, paid late or failed to pay more than 260,000 delivery workers in New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday, Sept. 22. City officials say it is the largest worker settlement in New York City history. More than $115 million will go directly to workers, and more than $16 million will cover civil penalties and costs.
Workers do not need to file a claim. The city says it has already identified everyone who is owed money, and personalized emails will start going out in late October.
Who gets paid from the DoorDash settlement?
Anyone the company underpaid in New York City between April 22, 2022, and June 28, 2026. The city found those workers through DoorDash’s own records. Its analysis covered more than 152 million payment transactions and 110 million hours of work.
Most payments will be modest, but some are large. DoorDash says the median payment is about $48. More than 27,000 workers will receive over $1,000, more than 4,000 will receive over $5,000, and about 700 are owed more than $10,000 each.
Workers who were not paid at all, or were paid late, will receive about 200% of what they were shorted. For example, the city says a worker who was never paid $1,000 will receive $3,000.
When will NYC Dashers get their DoorDash settlement money?
Starting this fall. The city’s settlement administrator will email each worker at the last address they used with DoorDash, listing the amount owed. Workers can choose an electronic payment or a check. Those who do not choose will receive a check at their last known address. A hotline for questions and email updates opens at the end of September, and more information is available at nyc.gov/doordash.
A smaller group of workers, mainly DashLink users, will receive a second payment in early 2027 while DoorDash finishes fixing part of its pay calculation.
Settlements attract scammers. Since no claim or paperwork is required, be suspicious of any message asking for a fee or personal banking details before you receive your notice.
How did DoorDash underpay workers?
By not counting all of their time. New York’s minimum pay rate for delivery workers, now $22.13 an hour before tips, took effect in December 2023. The city found that DoorDash left certain trip time and on-call time out of its calculations, and failed to pay some workers at all.
DoorDash did not fight the findings. On X, the company said it was responsible, that it messed up, and that the errors were unintentional and came from technical bugs and complicated situations, such as multi-stop orders, cancellations and trips outside city limits. It apologized to Dashers.
Mamdani said he had never heard a $131.5 million settlement described in such casual terms, given how widespread the problem was.
What changes for DoorDash in New York?
Workers get a role in monitoring the company. For three years, DoorDash must send the city detailed monthly data. Workers Justice Project and Princeton researchers at the Workers’ Algorithm Observatory will build a tool that lets Dashers share their trip and pay information directly with regulators, and DoorDash cannot penalize anyone for using it.
The company must also update its app so workers are not offered deliveries unless their time is being counted, stop paying lower rates on parts of batched trips and appoint an internal compliance monitor.
Is the DoorDash settlement just the beginning?
City Hall says yes. The city has already reached settlements with Uber Eats and Hungry Panda, and Mamdani now supports a City Council bill aimed at Amazon’s last-mile delivery warehouses. Amazon has warned the bill could put more than 5,000 subcontractor jobs at risk and push delivery operations out of the city. A coalition of 50 small businesses has raised similar concerns.
For the workers who brave rain, snow and traffic to deliver New York’s meals, this is money owed to them. If you or someone in your family drove for DoorDash in the city, check your email in late October.
