If you work for a delivery app service in NYC, you have legal rights and protections — regardless of your immigration status. From wage and tip regulation to bathroom use, NYC has various laws in place and resources available to ensure that you can carry out your work safely and with dignity.
This guide goes over the laws and resources that every delivery worker in NYC should know.
What protections do I have as a delivery worker?
All grocery and delivery workers who are classified as independent contractors must be compensated according to NYC’s minimum pay rate law, regardless of immigration status.
This law states that said workers must be paid a minimum wage, not including their tips, and that this rate must be adjusted for inflation each year. The minimum pay rate as of April 1, 2026 is $22.13. This does not apply to people who are classified as employees, such as those who work directly for a restaurant or grocery store. You can learn more about independent contractor versus employee status here.
If you work for a third-party restaurant delivery app, such as Uber, Grubhub, DoorDash, Wonder, Relay, Fantuan, and HungryPanda, these apps must:
- Pay all of your earnings at least once a week, which includes paying you all of your earned tips
- Provide you a detailed pay statement, which includes how much each customer tipped for each delivery and your total pay and tips for the previous day
- Provide you a free insulated food delivery bag after 6 food deliveries
- Give you route details before you accept a delivery and respect the limits you set on the distance you are willing to travel, in addition to which bridges or tunnels you are willing to use
If you work for a third-party grocery delivery app, such as Instacart or Shipt, these apps must:
- Pay you all the tips you earn and pay you at least once a week, offer a no-fee option to receive payment, and provide a detailed pay statement
- Give you route details before you accept delivery, including pickup address, estimated time, distance, pay and tip
- Provide you a free insulated food delivery bag after 6 food deliveries
If you work for a third-party delivery service app that is not a food or grocery delivery service, such as Amazon Flex and Gopuff, these apps must:
- Pay you once a week, provide a detailed pay statement and offer a no-fee option to receive payment
- Give you route details before you accept a delivery, which must include the pickup address, estimated time, distance, pay and tip
- Provide you with a free insulated food delivery bag after 6 food deliveries
These apps cannot retaliate against you for asserting your rights. If they do, they must pay the worker “between $500 to $2,500 plus the worker’s lost earnings.”
Do deliveristas have a right to use bathrooms?
Yes, you have the right to use a business’s bathroom when you pick up an order there unless there is a safety or health risk. You can show this card to a business so they allow you to use their bathroom.
If you are denied access to a bathroom, you may be entitled to $200 per instance.
What resources are available to me if my rights have been violated?
The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) is available to help you if your rights have been violated, regardless of your immigration status. You can file a complaint online or call 311 and say “delivery worker” to get connected to someone who can help.
The City Hall Park Deliverista Hub is another resource available to delivery workers. This newly opened center provides information and guidance on street safety, wage theft, and app deactivations. It is located at 249 Broadway and is operated five days a week by the Workers’ Justice Project.
You can also consult our wage theft guide for additional resources on where to file complaints or to get legal help if you have been a victim of wage theft.
How can I get involved with ongoing deliverista activism?
Los Deliveristas Unidos, which is part of the Worker’s Justice Project, organizes app-based delivery workers in NYC. They advocated for the City’s minimum pay rate for delivery workers and continue to provide support and resources.
