New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams announced on Monday that the new minimum wage for app-based restaurant delivery drivers in the city will be $19.56 per hour.
The typical driver in New York City earned $5.39 per hour before enforcement on the policy started last year, according to a press release from Adams. The policy mandated an $18.96 per hour rate but increased minimum pay to $19.56 per hour starting in April to adjust for inflation.
Adams said the policy is “what it looks like to stand with working-class New Yorkers and build a fairer economy." His office claimed that “the number of orders per week and the number of workers performing deliveries have remained steady since enforcement of the minimum pay rate began” and that “consumers and restaurants have not been negatively affected.”
"Our delivery workers have consistently delivered for us, and today the city is delivering for them," Adams said. "I was raised by a working mother who supported my five siblings and me, and there are thousands of delivery workers doing the same to support themselves.”
Companies with app-based restaurant delivery services, such as DoorDash and GrubHub, filed a lawsuit against New York City last year after the final minimum wage rule was approved. The firms contended that the rule was “unlawful, arbitrary, and capricious,” noting that in some cases the minimum wage standards are double the overall minimum wage for New York City. Members of the New York State Supreme Court ruled against the companies last fall, allowing the new minimum wage rule to be implemented starting at $17.96 per hour.
The wage hike in New York City comes after the state of California enacted a law which increased fast food minimum wages to $20.00 per hour, as well as created a Fast Food Council with authority to make additional rules for the industry. The law exempted restaurants operating a bakery that “produces for sale bread as a stand-alone menu item,” a carveout that was reportedly added to benefit Greg Flynn, a major donor to California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and a billionaire who franchises more than two dozen Panera Bread restaurants.
