Less than a month into his tenure, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made his stance on worker rights unmistakably clear. In a move that sent a strong signal to the gig economy, the city announced that three delivery app companies will be required to repay millions of dollars in withheld wages to delivery workers, known locally as deliveristas.

The decision was announced jointly by the mayor’s office and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, led by commissioner Sam Levine. Following a wide-ranging investigation into delivery app practices, Uber Eats, Fantuan, and Hungry Panda agreed to settlements totaling $4.6 million. The probe also examined the operations of Grubhub and DoorDash, though no settlements involving those companies were announced at this stage.

City officials said the investigation uncovered patterns of underpayment and unfair worker deactivations. Levine described the outcome as a turning point, arguing that large platforms have for too long treated labor laws as flexible guidelines rather than binding rules. The settlements, he said, are meant not just to compensate workers but to deter similar conduct in the future.

Uber Eats accounts for the largest share of the repayment. According to the city, the company improperly deactivated and underpaid thousands of workers between December 4, 2023, and September 2, 2024. As part of the settlement, Uber Eats will pay $3.15 million in worker relief penalties to more than 48,000 delivery workers. Individual payments will range from under $10 to just over $275, depending on each worker’s losses.

The company will also pay an additional $350,000 in civil fines to New York City. While that figure is modest compared to Uber’s reported $13.7 billion in revenue in 2024, labor advocates say the symbolic value of the enforcement action is significant.

Worker organizations welcomed the decision. Ligia Guallpa of the Workers’ Justice Project said the findings reflect long-standing complaints from delivery workers about opaque algorithms and sudden account deactivations that cut off income without warning. Academic observers echoed that view, noting that platform-based labor has often operated in a gray area with limited accountability.

Notably, Uber Eats did not contest the city’s findings. In a statement, company spokesperson Josh Gold said Uber corrected the issue after being notified in August 2024 and agreed to pay more than what was owed. He also thanked city officials for resolving the matter quickly.

For Mayor Mamdani’s administration, the settlement sets an early tone. It underscores a willingness to challenge powerful tech platforms while signaling that enforcement, rather than rhetoric, will shape the city’s approach to gig economy labor going forward.