DoorDash to Pay $131.5 Million to Resolve NYC Investigation Into Minimum-Pay Law Compliance

By Elias Schisgall

DoorDash will pay $131.5 million to settle an investigation by New York City regulators into the company's compliance with pay laws for food-delivery workers.

The company said Tuesday that the settlement includes $12.3 million in direct payments to delivery drivers on its platform, as well as $83 million to resolve a disagreement between DoorDash and the city over how drivers' pay is calculated. DoorDash also will pay the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection $16.7 million in fines.

The settlement resolves a DCWP investigation into DoorDash's compliance with a 2023 local law setting minimum pay rules for delivery drivers. The investigation has been continuing for more than a year, but hasn't resulted in a lawsuit against the company.

"Simply put, we screwed up," DoorDash said. "Our mistakes meant some Dashers were underpaid or paid late," the company added.

"While these mistakes weren't intentional, that doesn't make them okay," it said.

As part of the settlement, DoorDash also agreed to an internal control system and reporting structure with the DCWP and appointed a compliance officer to ensure it complied with the local law.

The city's investigation stemmed from a 2023 law setting pay rates for delivery drivers. DoorDash, Grubhub--which is now a unit of Wonder Group--and Uber Technologies' Uber Eats sued the city in an effort to block the law, but a judge denied their requests for a preliminary injunction and allowed the law to take effect.

DoorDash described the city's law as "the most complex earning standard for delivery workers in the country" and said that technical problems or complicated situations led to "many errors" in its compliance.

The bulk of the settlement--DoorDash's $83 million payment--concerns the law's requirement that drivers are paid for time spent on the app between deliveries, known as "on-call time." The company said it disagreed with the city's method for calculating on-call time but would comply with it to avoid further legal battles with the city.

The company will also pay $12.3 million directly to around 264,000 drivers, including 209,000 being compensated for missing or late payments. DoorDash missed $6.6 million worth of payments and another $5.7 million arrived late, it said.

The company said 65% of drivers were underpaid by $1 or less, with a median missing payment of $7.70. It said it will pay each eligible driver a minimum of $10 each, with a median payment of about $48.

"This settlement reflects the responsibility we take for falling short," the company said. "We've been working to finalize this for some time and already set aside the full amount in prior quarters," it added.

DoorDash and New York regulators have found themselves at odds over other rules in recent years. The company sued the city in 2021 over a separate law requiring food-delivery companies to share more data with restaurants.

The company also agreed in February 2025 to a $16.75 million settlement with New York State Attorney General Letitia James to return unpaid tips to delivery drivers.

Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 22, 2026 07:35 ET (11:35 GMT)