This week, the Office of the New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced that DoorDash delivery drivers who were notified and had their tips included in their wages from May 2017 to September 2019 in New York are required to submit claims for compensation by December 31 of this year.
According to the AG’s office, in February of this year, an investigation by Letitia James found that the largest food delivery platform in the United States misled consumers and drivers by using customer tips that should have been paid to drivers (also known as Dashers) to subsidize the company’s guaranteed base pay. Following this discovery, Letitia James reached a settlement agreement with DoorDash, ultimately securing $16.75 million in compensation for the drivers. The agreement also required DoorDash to modify its payment practices, increase transparency for both customers and drivers, and improve the accessibility of order history for drivers.
The AG’s office announced on December 4th that the deadline for compensation claim submission has been extended to 11:59 PM on December 31, 2025. All delivery drivers who worked for DoorDash in New York from May 2017 to September 2019 and had their tips included in their base pay are eligible to receive compensation from the settlement fund. These drivers are encouraged to submit their claims before the end of this month.
“Delivery drivers keep this city moving, and every penny of their hard work deserves to be compensated,” Letitia James stated in a release. “I encourage all eligible current and former delivery drivers to submit their claims promptly to receive the compensation they deserve. My office will continue to work diligently to ensure that every worker in New York is treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.”
Qualified drivers have already received settlement notifications from the independent administration firm, Atticus Administration, via mail, email, and text messages. Approximately 63,000 DoorDash drivers are eligible for this settlement compensation, with half of them having already submitted their claims as of December 3rd.
From 2017 to 2019, DoorDash implemented a payment model that guaranteed income for drivers, allowing them to see their potential earnings before accepting orders. However, in this model, customer tips were not paid on top of this guaranteed income but were used to supplement what drivers were already guaranteed. In other words, DoorDash assured a certain level of income to drivers, but the actual payment often only included an insufficient amount of the tips.
The investigation by Letitia James’ office revealed that at checkout, customers would see a message stating, “Dasher will always receive 100% of the tip,” encouraging them to tip. This misled customers into thinking that the tip directly benefited the driver. In reality, information about the use of tips was buried in complex online documents and not readily visible during the ordering process, leaving customers unaware of DoorDash using tips to reduce its own costs.
Individuals encountering issues when submitting claim applications can directly contact Atticus Administration. Delivery drivers with any questions regarding the settlement agreement can call 1-800-270-1039 or email [email protected]. For more information, please visit the OAG website.