Uber Eats Settles With Seattle Over Gig Worker Pay Dispute

SEATTLE — Delivery service Uber Eats will pay $3.3 million to more than 10,000 workers to settle allegations that it failed to provide required pay in certain instances as required by Seattle’s pandemic-era “premium pay” ordinance for gig workers.

The temporary rules were enacted in June 2020 and will expire with the ending of the COVID-19 emergency declaration at the end of the month. They require online food delivery services to provide workers with at least $2.50 in extra pay per order that is picked up or dropped off within Seattle.

Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards alleged that Uber Eats failed to provide the required pay when customers canceled or locations were closed upon arrival, or when deliveries were made from certain drug stores. Labor officials also alleged Uber Eats paid workers $0.025 per order, instead of $2.50, for two weeks this year, which the company blamed on a software glitch.

“Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, gig workers have played a key role in Seattle’s economy and deserve to have protections such as premium pay,” said Steven Marchese, the OLS director. “This settlement impacted the most gig workers of any of our investigations of the Gig Worker Premium Pay Ordinance — more than ten thousand gig workers in total.”

Under the settlement, an estimated 10,467 workers will receive a combined $3.3 million, and Uber Eats will pay Seattle more than $2,500 in fines. OLS officials said the settlement is the largest resulting from violations of the premium pay ordinance.