DoorDash breaks silence as Mamdani announces $131M settlement for underpaid workers: 'We screwed up…'

DoorDash will pay $131.5 million after a New York City investigation found hundreds of thousands of Dashers were underpaid or paid late. 

Published on: Sep 23, 2026, 14:02:41 IST

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DoorDash has admitted it “screwed up” and has agreed to pay $131.5 million to settle a New York City investigation that found the company underpaid or delayed payments to more than 264,000 delivery workers. The settlement, announced Tuesday, includes nearly $115 million in worker relief, a $16.7 million civil penalty, and three years of city monitoring.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the agreement as the largest labor enforcement action in the city’s history.

He accused DoorDash of using “greedy algorithms” that failed to comply with the city’s 2023 minimum-pay law for app-based delivery workers.

In his post on X, Mamdani wrote, “DoorDash has ripped off more than 260,000 NYC delivery workers. We’re making them pay $131.5 million, the largest worker settlement in City history. This is New York, where hard work pays and greed will cost you.”

“For years, DoorDash failed to count every hour worked by delivery workers,” the mayor said. “This was not a rounding error or an accidental mistake.” He added that the settlement reflects the city’s commitment to holding delivery platforms accountable for complying with worker protection laws.

“Simply put, we screwed up."

DoorDash acknowledged mistakes and has since said it has since corrected the technical problems that led to the errors.

In a statement, they wrote, "Simply put, we screwed up. Our mistakes meant some Dashers were underpaid or paid late. While these mistakes weren’t intentional, that doesn’t make them okay.”

How the settlement will compensate workers

According to city officials, approximately 264,000 Dashers who delivered food in New York City will share nearly $115 million in compensation. Reuters reported that the median payout will be about $48, although individual payments will vary depending on each worker’s circumstances.

The largest portion of the settlement, about $83 million, resolves allegations that DoorDash incorrectly calculated pay for workers who remained logged into the app while waiting for delivery requests. Under New York City’s 2023 delivery worker protections, companies must compensate workers according to specific pay standards, including certain waiting periods.

According to Reuters, another $12.3 million addresses payments that were either missed entirely or arrived days or even weeks after they were due. DoorDash said many of these problems stemmed from technical bugs, deliveries crossing city boundaries, incomplete banking information, partially completed deliveries and cancelled orders. The company said those issues have now been fixed.

As part of the agreement, DoorDash will also submit monthly payroll data to New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection for the next three years to ensure compliance with labor laws.

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