New DoorDash Class Action Lawsuit Filed over Tip Distribution

UPDATE: On August 28, 2020, the DoorDash Tip Distribution Class Action Lawsuit was dismissed.

Plaintiff Yvette D. has brought a DoorDash class action lawsuit on behalf of herself and other consumers regarding the company’s practice of charging for and paying out tips to the delivery drivers who work there.

Over 4,000 cities across the U.S. have DoorDash, which allows a consumer to make an order for food delivery directly from their phone. The drivers for DoorDash, who are classified as independent contractors, then bring these deliveries to the front door of the consumer who ordered the food.

As alleged in the DoorDash class action lawsuit, however, consumers using the app or company website were not properly informed about how tips were being paid to the drivers, who are referred to by the company as “Dashers.”

The lawsuit argues that the company engaged in fraudulent and unlawful practices of misrepresentation with regard to the tipping options given to consumers each time they make an order.

As explained in the DoorDash class action lawsuit, up until September 2019, drivers were not able to receive the tips paid by customers. The lawsuit argues that the company was taking these additional payments and pocketing them for base delivery pay rather than passing on the tip to the driver. The lead plaintiff says that she and other consumers had no reason to believe that the tips were being taken by the company.

The lawsuit states that in carrying out this practice until the policy was changed in September that the company is responsible for violating the Unfair Competition Law and the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act. Furthermore, the company is accused of false advertising.

As argued by the plaintiff, the company paid out the same tip level to the Dasher regardless of how much the consumer tipped. The company then reduced their own financial obligation to the driver based on the monies paid in by the customer as a tip.

Since the company was also charging a delivery fee, the plaintiff argues that DoorDash misled consumers about the practice of tipping by not disclosing that the additional funds were not passed on to the driver.

Stories in both the Washington Post and New York Times have covered claims from actual “dashers” who said that a guaranteed minimum payment is offered to drivers for each individual job. The reporter who took up this independent contractor gig says that even when a customer left him a $3 tip that he only received the guaranteed minimum payout promised to him before he even took the delivery.

In the later Washington Post article in July 2019, the company stated their intention to update their internal policies and payment model.

According to the class action lawsuit, however, the company’s website always maintained that Dashers received 100% of the tips that consumers left for them. The plaintiff claims that she and other buyers were misled to pay more for their food delivery orders than they otherwise would have paid because of the belief that the tips were going to the person making the food delivery.

The DoorDash Class Action Lawsuit is Case No. 3:19-cv-08305 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California San Francisco division.

Join a Free DoorDash User Tip Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you left a tip for your DoorDash driver between Sept. 22, 2017 and Sept. 18, 2019, you may be eligible to join a FREE DoorDash user tip class action lawsuit investigation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.