Essential but Unprotected: App-based Food Couriers in New York City

This report contains the findings from a participatory action research project that examined the working and living conditions of delivery workers engaged by digital platforms (also known as apps) to deliver restaurant food orders to consumers in New York City. Findings show that the top concerns expressed by the study participants were low pay received from app-based work, along with a lack of basic safeguards and sanitary working conditions. This is largely because app-based delivery workers in the U.S. are classified as independent contractors, and not as employees; as a result, they lack all the basic labor and employment protections that regular employees enjoy. Ultimately, this report concludes with recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders’ consideration. Recommendations include advancing policy proposals that will provide basic protections such as minimum pay, establishing regulations about distance for delivery trips, providing access to bathrooms at restaurants where workers pick up orders, and more.