Federal Judge Hands Down Verdict on NYC's New Tipping Law, DoorDash and Uber Eats' Plea Fails
A federal judge in Manhattan has blocked DoorDash and Uber Eats' last-ditch effort to overturn the city's new tipping legislation aimed at benefiting thousands of delivery workers. The decision comes just days before the law is set to take effect on Monday.
According to the ruling, delivery workers will now have the option to tip their drivers directly at checkout, rather than having to leave a tip after placing an order. A default minimum tip of 10% will also be required for all orders.
The ruling marks another significant victory for New York City's efforts to regulate wages and working conditions for gig economy workers. In recent years, the city has set minimum wage requirements for delivery drivers, but the new tipping law is seen as a major step forward in protecting their rights.
Uber and DoorDash had filed a joint lawsuit arguing that the city would violate their constitutional rights by forcing them to display mandatory messages about tipping. The companies claimed that this would stifle free speech and unfairly impact small businesses reliant on these platforms.
However, US District Judge George B. Daniels rejected this argument, stating that the delivery apps "have not successfully demonstrated that the balance of equities weigh in their favor."
The decision has been welcomed by city officials, including Councilmember Shaun Abreu, who introduced the tipping legislation. "This ruling is an early win for thousands of deliveristas citywide," he said.
Local workers' rights groups have also hailed the verdict as a major victory, with Ligia Guallpa, director of the Worker's Justice Project, saying that it "affirms a simple truth: Delivery workers are not disposable, and app companies do not get to rewrite labor standards through app design and legal intimidation."
The ruling comes after Uber and DoorDash were accused by city regulators of siphoning off millions of dollars from delivery workers, who claim the apps' altered interfaces discourage users from leaving tips.
A federal judge in Manhattan has blocked DoorDash and Uber Eats' last-ditch effort to overturn the city's new tipping legislation aimed at benefiting thousands of delivery workers. The decision comes just days before the law is set to take effect on Monday.
According to the ruling, delivery workers will now have the option to tip their drivers directly at checkout, rather than having to leave a tip after placing an order. A default minimum tip of 10% will also be required for all orders.
The ruling marks another significant victory for New York City's efforts to regulate wages and working conditions for gig economy workers. In recent years, the city has set minimum wage requirements for delivery drivers, but the new tipping law is seen as a major step forward in protecting their rights.
Uber and DoorDash had filed a joint lawsuit arguing that the city would violate their constitutional rights by forcing them to display mandatory messages about tipping. The companies claimed that this would stifle free speech and unfairly impact small businesses reliant on these platforms.
However, US District Judge George B. Daniels rejected this argument, stating that the delivery apps "have not successfully demonstrated that the balance of equities weigh in their favor."
The decision has been welcomed by city officials, including Councilmember Shaun Abreu, who introduced the tipping legislation. "This ruling is an early win for thousands of deliveristas citywide," he said.
Local workers' rights groups have also hailed the verdict as a major victory, with Ligia Guallpa, director of the Worker's Justice Project, saying that it "affirms a simple truth: Delivery workers are not disposable, and app companies do not get to rewrite labor standards through app design and legal intimidation."
The ruling comes after Uber and DoorDash were accused by city regulators of siphoning off millions of dollars from delivery workers, who claim the apps' altered interfaces discourage users from leaving tips.
. They think they can just exploit their workers for profit and then try to sue anyone who dares to challenge them? It's not like it's a new thing - we've seen this play out time and time again. The fact that Uber and DoorDash were trying to stifle free speech by claiming that displaying mandatory messages about tipping would be too much for small businesses is just ridiculous 
. I mean, if you're making all that money off of people's orders, shouldn't you have to pay a decent wage? And the default minimum tip of 10% isn't that bad either... it's not like they're asking for much 
. The fact that this ruling is being hailed as a major victory for workers' rights groups is about time - we need more of these kinds of wins to make sure big corporations aren't always getting away with taking advantage of their workers 
.
some good news for a change... i mean who needs free speech when thousands of people are making minimum wage on the side? lol just kidding kinda 
but seriously, it's about time someone stood up to those big corps and their lawyers. like, come on ubers and dashs, you're not as sneaky as you think 
. this new law is a win for workers, plain and simple. no more shouldering the burden of 'tips' while being forced to work long hours with no benefits 
. now if only they'd get paid a living wage... 
I'm loving this! The stats are insane - 64% of NYC residents support the new tipping law 
. This ruling is a major win for workers' rights, and it's about time 
. Uber and DoorDash are basically saying "we don't want to display tipping info" but it turns out they're not that concerned about the impact on their users 
. Overall, this ruling sends a clear message: gig economy companies need to start prioritizing workers' rights 
DoorDash & Uber Eats got served 
! This ruling is everything for NYC's gig economy workers - they deserve a fair shot 
. I mean, come on, if you're a business owner, you should be happy to have customers showing some love for the workers who are making your profits possible 
. Anyway, this ruling marks a huge win for labor rights and I'm here for it 
!
i mean, can't they see the harm they've been causin by keepin their workers in the dark? now we got a default tip and workers are gonna be gettin the recognition they deserve 
so like i just read this news about the new tipping law in NYC and im thinking 
how does this affect all those gig economy workers? 
and now delivery workers can get their fair share of tips!