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Delivering Relief: DCWP Announces Settlement with Relay Over Widespread Violations of Delivery Workers' Rights
June 23, 2025
Beginning July 3, Relay will also start paying delivery workers the City’s minimum pay rate
NEW YORK, NY – New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga today announced a settlement agreement with the courier service, Relay, over violations of the City’s Food Delivery Worker Laws that secures $200,000 for workers who experienced violations of their right to set maximum trip distances and $20,000 in civil penalties. Relay must also reinstate delivery workers it illegally deactivated for declining long trips and must comply with the law going forward. Workers who Relay wrongfully deactivated or who experienced violations of their maximum distance rights are urged to submit complaints online at nyc.gov/workers. As a condition of the settlement, Relay also dropped its challenge against the City’s Minimum Pay Rate, so beginning July 3, 2025, Relay must pay its delivery workers at least $21.44 per hour. The Minimum Pay Rate will provide Relay’s workforce with tens of millions of dollars more annually, with the average full-time worker earning over $10,000 more per year.
“Delivery workers, like all New Yorkers, deserve dignified pay and enforcement of their rights,” said DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga. “This settlement not only compensates workers harmed by Relay’s maximum distance violations but ensures they receive fair compensation going forward. We urge workers who performed deliveries for Relay and experienced maximum distance violations, or had their accounts deactivated, to reach out to us immediately.”
DCWP’s investigation found that Relay violated the City’s Food Delivery Worker Laws by failing to provide food delivery workers with the ability to specify their maximum trip distance, select the bridges and tunnels through which they travel while on trips, and deactivating workers accounts in retaliation for exercising their rights by declining trips inconsistent with their preferred parameters. Delivery workers can visit nyc.gov/deliveryapps or call 311 and say “delivery worker” to learn more about their rights under the Delivery Worker Laws.
The Workers’ Bill of Rights — a multilingual and comprehensive guide to rights in the workplace in New York City — summarizes the laws that protect workers, including employees, freelancers, workers classified as independent contractors, and job applicants in New York City, regardless of immigration status. The Workers’ Bill of Rights includes information on rights enforced by DCWP, like Paid Safe and Sick Leave, the Fair Workweek Law, the Temporary Schedule Change Law, and the City’s Delivery Worker Laws, as well as rights enforced by other state and federal agencies, like minimum wage and the right to organize. It also includes information about who to contact for more information or with questions, as well as how to file a complaint. Workers and employers can visit nyc.gov/workers or call 311 (212-NEW-YORK outside New York City) for more information about the laws that DCWP enforces or to file a complaint. Complaints can be filed anonymously. It is illegal to retaliate against workers for filing complaints.
DCWP’s case was handled by Investigator Asia Dominguez-Correa, Supervising Investigator Alex Moran, Staff Counsel Gabriel Gutierrez, Staff Counsel Olivia Wade, Senior Enforcement Counsel John De Vito, Senior Enforcement Counsel Morgan Everhart, Labor Economist Mike Papadopoulos, Director of Data Science Elizabeth Major, Litigation Director Emily Hoffman, and Executive Director of Policy & Analytics Sam Krinsky, under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner Elizabeth Wagoner.
The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP)—formerly the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA)—protects and enhances the daily economic lives of New Yorkers to create thriving communities. DCWP licenses more than 45,000 businesses in more than 40 industries and enforces key consumer protection, licensing, and workplace laws that apply to countless more. By supporting businesses through equitable enforcement and access to resources and, by helping to resolve complaints, DCWP protects the marketplace from predatory practices and strives to create a culture of compliance. Through its community outreach and the work of its offices of Financial Empowerment and Labor Policy & Standards, DCWP empowers consumers and working families by providing the tools and resources they need to be educated consumers and to achieve financial health and work-life balance. DCWP also conducts research and advocates for public policy that furthers its work to support New York City’s communities. For more information about DCWP and its work, call 311 or visit DCWP at nyc.gov/dcwp or on its social media sites, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Media Contacts:
Michael Lanza / Stephany Vasquez Sanchez
Department of Consumer and Worker Protection
(212) 436-0042
press@dcwp.nyc.gov