DoorDash will pay approximately $5.3 million under the agreement, with the bulk of the money going to the firm’s delivery workers, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said in a statement. Out of the $5.3 million, almost $5.1 million will go to the nearly 4,500 DoorDash workers who made deliveries in the city between 2016 and 2020.
In a statement, Chiu said, "We are living through an era of deep inequality, and nothing could be more important than ensuring workers are paid fairly and their benefits are safeguarded.”
San Francisco launched a formal investigation into DoorDash in 2019 after media reports alleged the company was using tips from customers to subsidise workers’ base pay. San Francisco claimed that DoorDash was violating its health care benefit and paid sick leave laws by misclassifying workers as independent contractors instead of employees.
However, DoorDash admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement. In a statement, the delivery firm said it was proud of the flexible earning opportunities it provided to its workers.
"While we deny any wrongdoing, we feel that this settlement represents a fair compromise that will allow us to focus on continuing to provide the best experience for Dashers," the company said.
