DoorDash will pay $1.6 million to its workers after violating the city of Seattle's sick and safe time policy, reports The Seattle Times.
The Office of Labor Standards shared that the food delivery app violated the policy for the second time in two years by incorrectly providing paid sick and safe time to workers. The policy was set up during the pandemic but codified earlier this spring as part of the city's efforts to give contract workers similar protections to other employees, noted the news source.
DoorDash gig workers shared with the office that the company did not establish a system for eligible workers to request and use paid time, failed to provide timely compensation for using their allotted time, and did not give workers a monthly notice of their paid and safe time balances.
A spokesperson for Doordash shared that the violations were due to the company having to adapt to local policy protocols during the pandemic.
“Since this policy was enacted, which was originally on a temporary basis, we have worked diligently to meet these new requirements and have ensured that eligible Seattle Dashers have been paid out for their time,” a company spokesperson wrote. “Now that the ordinance is permanent, we are ensuring that Dashers are properly notified of all accrued time and are proactively reaching out to provide them with more information about this policy.”
Of the $1.6 million the company has agreed to pay, $500,000 will go directly to 648 affected employees, and the rest will go to safe and sick time credits for over 26,000 gig workers. Fines will also be paid to Seattle. Full Story
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