NYC judge paves way for delivery customers to feel MORE pressure to tip after upholding new law in spite of DoorDash, Ubers suit
A Friday decision by a federal judge is set to up the pressure to tip your delivery guy or gal in New York City, even as tipping culture is widely viewed as out of control already.US District Judge George B.Daniels declined to strike down a New York City law that requires food delivery apps such as Uber Eats and DoorDash to provide customers a tipping option before checkout.Starting Monday, the new law will force delivery apps to prompt customers to tip before finalizing their orders, with a default suggestion of at least 10%.
City officials said the change was needed to protect workers’ earnings after tips plunged when a new minimum-wage law went into effect in late 2023.But the new policy will likely make it easier for delivery app workers to decline orders that don’t have big enough tips, a bevy of Reddit posts suggests.“Many of us just do not accept no-tip orders so they sit around until someone finally takes it,” a user posted on a thread for DoorDash workers.“By then the food is usually cold and the customers are upset.
Oh well, sucks to suck.”“If I’m certain there’s no tip, it’s an instant decline,” another wrote.The minimum hourly pay rate for app-based delivery workers required companies like Uber and DoorDash to raise pay to $21.44 an hour before tips.City officials say the policy dramatically boosted earnings, estimating it increased delivery worker pay by about $1.2 billion total from December 2023 to this month.But the law also triggered backlash from delivery companies, which raised fees and warned it would distort the economics of app-based delivery.Uber and DoorDash have also argued the new tipping law effectively strong-arms customers into tipping up front, undermining the traditional idea of a gratuity as a reward for good service.“Allowing this law to take effect means we will likely see an immediate drop off in orders for New York’s small businesses, a worse experience for customers, and fewer overall deliveries for...