DoorDash, Uber Challenge NYC Law Requiring Tip Option at Checkout

DoorDash and Uber have sued to block a New York City law that requires delivery platforms to ask consumers to tip at checkout, instead of after the delivery, and to display the amounts of a suggested tip.

“A reminder to tip is a courtesy, a forced solicitation of a tip may as well be a tax,” DoorDash said in a Thursday (Dec. 11) blog post announcing the lawsuit.

The company added in the post that tipping remains voluntary under the law, but that the requirement to ask for it at checkout amounts to “pressure” on consumers.

It also said the DoorDash platform prompts consumers to tip delivery drivers once their order is delivered.

“We do not disagree with policies that ensure Dashers are paid fairly,” DoorDash said in its post. “We disagree with policies that unfairly pressure consumers and remove our options to bring balance to ordering experience. It should be up to consumers, not the City Council, whether they want to leave a tip in New York.”

Bloomberg reported Thursday that DoorDash’s counsel said the delivery companies argued in the lawsuit that the New York City laws violate their free speech rights under the First Amendment by restricting how they communicate with customers about tipping and by compelling them to speak the city’s message without compensation.

The report added that the laws being challenged in the suit are set to take effect in January.

It was reported Dec. 2 that Instacart sued New York City over new laws that will govern grocery delivery workers’ pay and tips.

Instacart’s lawsuit targets Local Law 124, Local Law 107 and other grocery delivery laws that are set to take effect in January.

The laws require companies to offer grocery delivery workers the same minimum pay that restaurant delivery workers are eligible for, require companies to give consumers the option to tip at least 10% of the purchase price or manually enter the amount of the tip, and require other recordkeeping and disclosures.

Instacart said the laws violate federal law that preempts cities from regulating the prices, routes and services for motor carriers that transport goods, as well as state law that regulates this area.