DCWP Report Shows Uber and DoorDash Drove $550 Million in Delivery Worker Pay Losses

January 13, 2026

Commissioner Levine Vows to Reverse Losses Through Aggressive Enforcement of Worker Protection Laws

NEW YORK, NY – The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) released a report analyzing how UberEats and DoorDash engineered design tricks in their interfaces to make it harder for consumers to tip delivery workers. The report shows that tips for UberEats and DoorDash delivery workers fell by more than $550 million, while holding steady on rival platforms that kept their interfaces unchanged. Since DCWP began enforcing the Minimum Pay Rate in December 2023, total pay to workers has increased by $1.2 billion, and the industry has continued to grow. With a new law protecting tips coming this year, DCWP is committed to ensuring workers earn the pay they deserve and consumers are restored the option to tip without barriers.

“Our report blows the whistle on a massive scheme by Uber and DoorDash to drive down worker pay by more than $550 million. That era has come to end,” said DCWP Commissioner Samuel A.A. Levine. “Under Mayor Mamdani, the biggest corporations in the world will no longer be able to rake in record profits on the backs of workers and consumers. If these companies do not follow new tipping laws going into effect later this month, they will face significant consequences.”

“This report confirms what deliveristas have lived for years: when workers won a living wage, the app companies retaliated by intentionally blocking access to tips to keep workers vulnerable and dependent. Time and again, when deliveristas fight for dignified pay and dignified work, these companies do everything they can to undermine those gains – but we will not be stopped,” said Ligia Gualla, Executive Director of Worker’s Justice Project and Co-Founder of its Los Deliveristas Unidos campaign. “That is why we are grateful to Mayor Mamdani and DCWP Commissioner Levine for standing with workers and announcing a new era of enforcement and accountability. We look forward to working with DCWP to ensure app companies fully comply with the protections workers have won – including minimum pay, deactivation protections, and pay and tipping transparency – and to shutting down every loophole the app companies and their reckless algorithms may use to exploit workers. Thank you DCWP for continuing to expose these abuses and for fighting alongside us to build deliverista power."

As new worker protection laws take effect in 2026, DCWP is committed to being transparent with the public about what these reforms mean for the working people of New York City. Through rigorous data analysis, public reporting, and active enforcement, the Department will ensure that these laws deliver on the promise of fairness, higher pay, and greater economic security for New York workers.

Data Highlights:

Tips Per Delivery at Uber Eats and DoorDash Before and After Tipping Interface Changes

Tipping on delivery platforms decreased immediately after Uber Eats and DoorDash implemented design tricks in December 2023, and has declined further since then.
The average tip at Uber Eats and DoorDash is currently $0.76 per delivery.
In contrast, the average tip is $2.17 per delivery on Restaurant Delivery Apps that offer a tipping option at checkout. The results are clear: when New Yorkers are given the option to tip delivery workers, they do.
The design tricks have resulted in a $554 million decrease in Uber Eats and DoorDash workers’ tip earnings since they were implemented. The current loss to workers is approximately $5,800 per year.

Delivery workers can visit nyc.gov/deliveryapps or call 311 and say “delivery worker” to learn more about their rights under the Delivery Workers Laws.

The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) is the nation’s leading municipal enforcement agency charged with delivering New Yorkers economic justice and an affordable city. DCWP leverages its authority to deliver real economic relief to New Yorkers and protect them from predatory, deceptive, and unfair practices that violate their consumer and workers’ rights. This includes pioneering cutting-edge protections, such as the City’s Consumer Protection Law, Protected Time Off Law, Fair Workweek Law, and Delivery Workers Laws, including the Minimum Pay Rate for delivery workers. While licensing more than 45,000 businesses in over 45 industries, we also ensure fair competition and a level playing field for responsible small businesses that are integral to New York City’s vibrant communities. DCWP also provides essential services, such as free tax preparation and financial counseling to ensure New Yorkers keep more of what they earn and can plan for their future. Across our mission, DCWP is committed to strengthening our communities and making New York City a fairer, more affordable place to live. For more information about DCWP and its work, call 311 or visit DCWP at nyc.gov/dcwp, sign up for its newsletter, or follow on its social media sites, X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Media Contact:
Stephany Vasquez Sanchez
Department of Consumer and Worker Protection
(212) 436-0042
press@dcwp.nyc.gov