Workers who deliver groceries for Instacart and other apps will soon be paid according to the city's restaurant-centric minimum wage law that went into effect in 2023, as the City Council plans to vote on that and a package of bill to regulate the app-based delivery industry.
Streetsblog first reported on the "Instacart loophole" last November, documenting the situation where immigrant African asylum seekers who turned to Instacart as one of their only options for work were not getting the same wage protections as their counterparts on restaurant apps like Door Dash, GrubHub and UberEats.
Activists in the city's Black immigrant community praised the Council's upcoming action as a move toward dignity for these workers.
"These bills represent more than policy – they are a step toward justice for communities who have too often been invisible in the workforce," said Adama Bah, the founder of Afrikana, which fights for the rights of Black, Arab, and Muslim immigrants in New York City. "We believe every worker, especially Black migrants and immigrants in the delivery sector, should be protected, respected, and paid fairly. We’re honored to support this historic moment."
Streetsblog broke down the unjust loophole in an award-winning video last fall:
In addition to closing the loophole in the minimum pay law, the bills on deck for a Monday vote address tipping transparency, pay protection and safety.
New regulations for a growing industry
After Streetsblog's reporting on the Instacart loophole, Council members Jennifer Gutiérrez and Sandy Nurse, both Democrats from Brooklyn, introduced bills that would require all apps that contract delivery workers to pay the deliverista minimum wage, which only originally covered apps doing restaurant delivery, even though the work is largely the same.
Those bills, Intro 1133 and Intro 1135, are set to pass Monday.
Also on the docket for Monday is Intro 0738, sponsored by Council Member Shaun Abreu (D-Morningside Heights), which would require app companies to offer the option to tip workers before checkout or at the time of checkout.
After the minimum wage was enacted, DoorDash and Uber Eats changed the tipping interface, instead of choosing a tip during checkout, the app would ask for a tip after the order was completed, which resulted in many customers neglecting the tip entirely. Workers saw this as retaliation.
"I fully support this legislation to bring back the option for customers to leave a tip before completing their food order," said Antonio Solis, a delivery worker and organizing leader with Los Deliveristas Unidos.
"For thousands of delivery workers like me, tips are not a bonus — they’re a vital part of our income. When customers can tip upfront, it gives us motivation and a sense of appreciation for the hard work we do every day — rain or shine, cold or heat. This change isn’t just about money — it’s about respect."
The Council will also vote on Intro 0859, also from Abreu, which will require apps to give a transparent breakdown of how they calculate each worker's pay, and Intro 0020, sponsored by Council Member Gale Brewer (D-Upper West Side), which will require the app companies ensure workers take a safety course and provide workers with bicycle safety equipment like lights, helmets, brakes and bells.
Advocates who fought for the original minimum pay law are glad to see its tent expanded.
"These bills will significantly strengthen and expand the 2023 minimum pay law by closing loopholes exploited to undermine its intent," said said Ligia Guallpa, executive director of Worker’s Justice Project, which started the Los Deliveristas Unidos campaign.
"These bills will ensure more consistent, equitable, and enforceable labor standards across the industry."The bill package comes at the heels of Mayor Adams and City Hall finally providing clarity on Hizzoner's proposed "Department of Sustainable Delivery," which he announced in January of 2024. Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, meanwhile, has refused to take up City Hall's sprawling bill proposal to create the new department. That forced Adams to launch it as a meager 45-person team of unarmed enforcement agents within the Department of Transportation, who won't be on the job until 2028.
“Introductions 20, 737, 738, 859, 1133, and 1135 are going through the Council's legislative process, which is deliberative and allows for thorough public engagement and input," a spokeswoman for Speaker Adams said in a statement to Streetsblog.
Representatives for Mayor Adams did not immediately comment.
