Council adopts package extending protections and minimum pay to contracted delivery workers

The New York City Council approved a package of bills aimed at expanding protections for contracted delivery workers, including grocery and third-party contractors. The measures were adopted in separate roll calls: Intro 11-33A was adopted 35–6–1 and Intro 11-35A was adopted 36–4–2; related bills on tipping and pay timing were also passed (recorded tallies for related introductions include 37–5–0 for some items).

Councilmember Sandy Nurse, sponsor of Intro 11-35A, said the bill "ensures that grocery delivery workers, many of whom are supporting families, are paid the same $21.44 minimum wage as food delivery workers. This is about basic fairness," and described the prior exclusion of grocery delivery from earlier protections as a gap the council sought to correct.

Sponsors described the package as covering pay (a minimum rate for grocery delivery and a requirement that the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection study conditions and set rates compatible with grocery delivery), timely payment (requiring pay no later than seven calendar days after a pay period), pay-statement transparency (itemized written statements kept for at least three years), tips (requiring a tipping option at or before order placement and a minimum default suggestion), access to restrooms, distribution of fire safety materials, and a requirement to provide insulated delivery bags. The bills direct DCWP to study and, where applicable, implement minimum rates and other protections.

Supporters said the bills will raise wages and protect delivery workers from low pay and unsafe conditions; several council members thanked organized delivery workers and staff who drafted the legislation. Opponents recorded no single-line public quotation in the transcript excerpted for this article; roll-call tallies show divided votes on specific items.

Intro 11-33A (extending food delivery protections to contracted delivery workers) passed 35–6–1; Intro 11-35A (minimum pay for grocery delivery workers) passed 36–4–2. Other related bills on tipping and pay timing (Intros 7-37A, 7-38A and 8-59A) were adopted by recorded votes reflected in the council's summary of the general orders calendar.

The bills direct city agencies to set or study implementation details (for example, DCWP determining a minimum pay rate) and include reporting and recordkeeping requirements; the legislation affects third-party platforms and contracted delivery workers operating in New York City.