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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline FEBRUARY 13, 2026 | The Indian Eye 30

Mayor Mamdani Announces $5 Million Settlement

and Reinstatement for Thousands of Wrongfully

Deactivated Food Delivery Workers

Uber Eats, Fantuan, and HungryPanda to Pay $5.19 Million in Restitution and Penalties;
Up to 10,000 Workers Eligible for Reinstatement

OUR BUREAU

NEW YORK, NY
ayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and
Department of Consumer and Worker
MProtection (DCWP) Commissioner Sam
Levine have announced more than $5 million in
restitution, civil penalties, and damages secured
from three major restaurant delivery app compa-
nies for violations of New York City’s Minimum
Pay Rate law for app-based delivery workers.
Under the settlement, Uber Eats, Fantuan,
and HungryPanda will collectively pay $5,195,000,
benefiting more than 49,000 delivery workers city-
wide. In addition, Uber Eats has agreed to rein-
state workers wrongfully deactivated between
December 2023 and September 2024, potentially
restoring access to work for as many as 10,000 de-
livery workers.
“In the first month of this administration, our
city has made one thing unmistakably clear: there
is zero tolerance for exploiting workers, cutting
corners on labor protections, or rigging our econ- systems, which combine monthly reporting re- Deliveristas Unidos, said the settlement confirms
omy to serve wealthy corporations at the expense quirements for app companies with targeted work- what workers have long argued. “Exploitation is
of working people,” said Mayor Zohran Kwame er outreach. This approach allows the agency to not an accident—it’s baked into the app delivery
Mamdani. “This settlement delivers real relief to rapidly identify violations, stop unlawful practices, business model,” she said. “Today’s victory shows
thousands of New Yorkers and draws a red line for and ensure workers receive both unpaid wages and that those days are coming to an end.”
corporate abuse. If you break the law and profit additional compensation for harm suffered. The settlement comes as the Mamdani ad-
from exploitation, you will be held accountable— State and city leaders praised the settlement as ministration intensifies enforcement of the City’s
swiftly and directly.” a major victory for delivery workers, known as de- Delivery Worker Laws. Earlier this month, DCWP
DCWP Commissioner Sam Levine empha- liveristas, who form a vital part of New York City’s filed a lawsuit against Motoclick and issued compli-
sized that the settlement reflects a new era of en- economy. ance warnings to more than 60 app companies, in-
forcement. “The days of giant corporations juicing “New York will not stand by while corpora- cluding DoorDash, Grubhub, Instacart, and Uber.
profits by underpaying workers are over,” Levine tions break the law and exploit working people,” Recent legislation includes Local Law 113,
said. “We’re not only returning full back pay, but said State Senator Kristen Gonzalez. “The mini- increasing pay transparency; Local Laws 123 and
also recovering damages and penalties to send a mum pay rate exists because workers deserve dig- 124, expanding minimum pay protections and pay-
strong message: cheating workers will not be toler- nity, stability, and fair pay.” ment rights; and Local Laws 107 and 108, requir-
ated in New York City.” Council Member Harvey Epstein, Chair of the ing tipping options at checkout. A recent DCWP
According to DCWP investigations, Uber Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection, report found that DoorDash and Uber used inter-
Eats will pay $3.15 million in restitution to more called the agreement “a victory for working-class face design tactics that reduced worker tips by $550
than 48,000 workers, along with $350,000 in civil New Yorkers over corporate greed,” noting that million—practices that are now illegal.
penalties and fees, after failing to pay the required delivery companies have long preyed on vulner- New York City’s Minimum Pay Rate, first es-
minimum rate for time spent on canceled trips able, immigrant communities. “This settlement tablished under Local Law 115 of 2021, has signifi-
between December 2023 and September 2024. marks the beginning of a new era,” Epstein said. cantly increased average hourly earnings for app-
Fantuan will pay more than $468,000 in restitution Council Members Shaun Abreu, Sandy Nurse, based delivery workers without reducing delivery
to 285 workers, plus over $52,000 in penalties, for and Jen Gutierrez echoed the sentiment, empha- volume. The rate will rise to $22.13 per hour for
violations occurring between December 2023 and sizing that enforcement—combined with worker the first pay period on or after April 1, 2026, re-
February 2024. HungryPanda will pay $1,068,672 organizing and strong legislation—has finally be- flecting inflation adjustments.
in restitution to more than 1,000 workers, along gun to shift power away from multibillion-dollar With this settlement, city officials say New
with $106,327 in penalties, for violations between app companies and back toward workers. York is setting a national standard for protecting
December 2023 and January 2024. Labor advocates also welcomed the an- gig workers—proving that strong laws, real en-
These cases highlight the effectiveness of nouncement. Ligia Guallpa, Executive Director of forcement, and organized workers can hold even
DCWP’s compliance monitoring and enforcement the Worker’s Justice Project and co-founder of Los the most powerful corporations accountable.

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