(a) When the Department issues a subpoena for data, information or documents under § 20-1522(a)(2) of the Administrative Code, a third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service must provide all responsive data, information or documents to the Department within 30 days of receiving such subpoena and, if so requested, in the comma-delimited formats and layouts prescribed by the Department in such subpoena.
(b) Standard Method. A third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service must make payments to food delivery workers for their trip time and on-call time in a pay period that meet the individual and aggregate requirements of subparagraphs 1 and 2 of this subdivision.
(1) Individual requirement. A third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service must pay to a food delivery worker who engages in trip time in a pay period no less than the sum of such food delivery worker's trip time in that pay period multiplied by the following minimum pay rates:
(i) $17.96 per hour, for pay periods that start on or after the effective date of this section;
(ii) $18.96 per hour, adjusted for inflation as set forth in subdivision (g) of this section, for pay periods that start on or after April 1, 2024; and
(iii) $19.96 per hour, adjusted for inflation annually as set forth in subdivisions (h) and (i) of this section, for pay periods that start on or after April 1, 2025.
(2) Aggregate requirement. A third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service must pay, in aggregate, to the food delivery workers who engage in trip time or on-call time in a pay period no less than the sum of all such food delivery workers' trip time and on-call time in that pay period multiplied by the following minimum pay rates:
(i) $17.96 per hour, for pay periods that start on or after the effective date of this section;
(ii) $18.96 per hour, adjusted for inflation as set forth in subdivision (g) of this section, for pay periods that start on or after April 1, 2024; and
(iii) $19.96 per hour, adjusted for inflation annually as set forth in subdivisions (h) and (i) of this section, for pay periods that start on or after April 1, 2025.
(c) Alternative Method. Notwithstanding the requirements of subdivision (b) of this section, an eligible third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service may use the alternative method specified in this subdivision to determine the minimum payments it must make to food delivery workers for their trip time and on-call time in a pay period.
(1) For pay periods that begin prior to April 1, 2024, any third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service may use the alternative method specified in this subdivision. For pay periods that begin on or after April 1, 2024, a third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service may use the alternative method for any pay period in which its utilization rate is greater than or equal to 0.53 and in up to two pay periods per year in which its utilization rate is less than 0.53. For purposes of this subdivision, a year begins with the first pay period that begins on or after April 1 of a calendar year and ends with the last pay period that begins on or before March 31 of the following calendar year. If an eligible third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service chooses this alternative method, the method applies to each and every food delivery worker who engages in trip time in the pay period. An eligible third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service that chooses the alternative method for a pay period must document its utilization rate and choice of method no later than when payment is due pursuant to § 20-1523(b) of the Administrative Code and 6 RCNY § 7-807.
(2) An eligible third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service that chooses the alternative method must pay to each food delivery worker who engages in trip time in a pay period no less than such food delivery worker's trip time in that pay period multiplied by the alternative minimum pay rate. Such alternative minimum pay rate is calculated by dividing the minimum pay rate otherwise required by subdivision (b) of this section by 0.60. Such third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service is not required to pay a food delivery worker for the pay period if the food delivery worker engages in on-call time but no trip time.
(d) Bases of Pay. A third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service may fulfill its obligation under subdivision (b) or subdivision (c) of this section using any basis of pay it chooses, including paying an hourly rate, a per-trip rate or other piece rate, a bonus or other lump-sum payment, or any other basis.
Example: In a pay period that begins on April 1, 2024, 5,000 food delivery workers, in aggregate, engage in 55,000 hours of trip time and 45,000 hours of on-call time. Worker A, individually, engages in 30 hours of trip time and 5 hours of on-call time. Following a 2% inflation adjustment performed by the Department pursuant to subdivision (g) of this section, the minimum pay rate is $19.34. The alternative minimum pay rate is $19.34 divided by 0.60.
Standard Method: The third-party food delivery service meets the requirements of both subdivision (b)(1) and subdivision (b)(2) of this section if it pays its food delivery workers as follows:
1. Each food delivery worker is paid at least an amount equal to their trip time multiplied by $19.34. For instance, worker A receives at least $580.20, which is $19.34 multiplied by 30 hours; and
2. The total the third-party food delivery service pays for the pay period meets or exceeds the aggregate amount of trip time and on-call time (100,000 hours) multiplied by $19.34, which equals $1,934,000. Worker A's payment of at least $580.20 for trip time is credited towards the aggregate requirement and Worker A may, or may not, receive an additional payment.
Alternative Method: The third-party food delivery service has a utilization rate of 0.55, which is its trip time (55,000) divided by the sum of its trip time and on-call time (100,000). Since 0.55 is greater than 0.53, the third-party food delivery service is eligible under subdivision (c)(1) to use the alternative method to determine the minimum payments it must make to its food delivery workers for the pay period. If the third-party food delivery service uses the alternative method, it meets the requirements of subdivision (c) if each food delivery worker is paid at least an amount equal to their trip time multiplied by $19.34 divided by .60. For instance, worker A receives $967.00, which is $19.34 divided by .60 multiplied by 30 hours.
(e) A third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service may not use gratuities paid to a food delivery worker to offset such third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service's obligation to pay the food delivery worker the minimum pay required by this section.
(f) A third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service may not use amounts paid to a food delivery worker for trips with a pickup and drop-off location outside of New York City to offset such third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service's obligation to pay to the food delivery worker the minimum pay required by this section.
(g) The Department shall perform the inflation adjustment required by subdivisions (b)(1)(ii) and (b)(2)(ii) of this section by multiplying $18.96 by the percent change in the All Items Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the NY-NJ-PA metro area between December 2022 and December 2023 and rounding to the nearest cent, provided that if the percentage change is zero or negative, the adjustment shall be zero. The Department shall post the Consumer Price Index adjusted minimum pay rate on its website on or before the first day of February 2024.
(h) For pay periods beginning on or after April 1, 2025 and before April 1, 2026, the Department shall perform the inflation adjustment required by subdivisions (b)(1)(iii) and (b)(2)(iii) of this section by multiplying $19.96 by the percent change in the All Items Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the NY-NJ-PA metro area between December 2022 and December 2024 and rounding to the nearest cent, provided that if the percentage change is zero or negative, the adjustment shall be zero. The Department shall post the Consumer Price Index adjusted minimum pay rate on its website on or before the first day of February 2025.
(i) Beginning with the minimum pay rate for pay periods that start on or after April 1, 2026, and continuing each calendar year thereafter, the Department shall post the inflation-adjusted minimum pay rate required by subdivisions (b)(1)(iii) and (b)(2)(iii) of this section on or before the first day of February of the calendar year in which the rate will take effect. Such inflation adjustments will be performed by multiplying the minimum pay rate in effect prior to adjustment by the most recent December to December percent change in the All Items Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the NY-NJ-PA metro area and rounding to the nearest cent, provided that if the percentage change is zero or negative, the adjustment shall be zero.
(j) In the report the Department must submit to the council and the mayor no later than September 24, 2024 pursuant to § 20-1522(d) of the Administrative Code, the Department will review the base pay, workers' compensation, expense, and multi-apping components of the minimum pay rate, the utilization eligibility threshold for the Alternative Method, and the calculation used to determine the alternative minimum pay rate to determine if adjustments need to be made to the rates set forth in subdivision (b) of this section. As part of such review, the Department may utilize any records and reports that a third-party food delivery service or third-party courier service is required to maintain, produce, or submit to the Department pursuant to 6 RCNY § 7-805, as well as any other information the Department deems relevant.
(Added City Record 1/19/2022, eff. 2/18/2022; amended City Record 6/12/2023, eff. 7/12/2023)