DoorDash owes $115 million back to NYC delivery workers it underpaid

If you delivered for DoorDash in New York City between April 22, 2022 and June 28, 2026, the company may owe you money. DCWP found that DoorDash failed to pay thousands of workers, paid thousands more late, and left categories of trip and on-call time out of its minimum-pay calculations. DoorDash acknowledged the missing and late payments but disputed the city’s on-call-time calculation. The settlement directs more than $115 million to workers and more than $16 million to penalties and costs.

You don’t have to apply. The city used DoorDash’s records to identify eligible workers. On October 29, the administrator sent each one a notice by email or, if no email was available, by mail. Missing or late pay brings roughly twice that amount in compensation; for example, $1,000 that never arrived results in $3,000 total, while $1,000 paid late results in $2,000. DoorDash says the median payout is about $48, and everyone owed money gets at least $10. Workers can choose an electronic payment; those who do not will receive a check in February 2027.

The investigation began under the prior administration after dozens of couriers complained; Workers Justice Project helped many file complaints. Commissioner Sam Levine’s DCWP completed the case after Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration increased enforcement resources. For three years, DoorDash must send the city monthly pay data and count the categories of trip and on-call time that DCWP said it had excluded.