Mamdani administration targets gig company stealing from workers
New York City has filed a landmark lawsuit against delivery application Motoclick, signaling the beginning of an era in which gig economy companies will face serious consequences for wage violations under Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration. The city accuses the company and its CEO Juan Pablo Salinas Salek of stealing millions from workers through illegal fees and systematic wage violations, seeking to shut down the company’s operations entirely.
Workers Endured Systematic Exploitation
Delivery workers who filed complaints with the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection described conditions that reveal the scale of corporate abuse. One worker, Gustavo Ajche from Guatemala and member of Los Deliveristas Unidos, showed evidence that Motoclick paid him just $6.75 for three hours of work in November 2024, far below the city’s $19.56 minimum hourly wage for delivery workers that was in effect at that time. The company employed multiple mechanisms to steal worker earnings: charging $10 penalties for canceled orders, deducting full refund costs from paychecks, and in some cases claiming workers owed the company money for shifts they completed.
Coordinated Enforcement Signals New Direction
Announcing the lawsuit on January 15, Mayor Mamdani stated that his administration intends to show that “the era of impunity when it comes to profiting off of working-class New Yorkers’ lives is going to come to an end.” Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Samuel Levine, previously head of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection under President Biden, made clear the city would pursue aggressive enforcement strategies against predatory companies. Levine explicitly warned that “companies like Motoclick should be on notice” and that the city would continue pursuing legal action against other apps demonstrating similar violations.
Pattern of Abuse Across Gig Economy
The Motoclick suit is not isolated action but opening salvo in broader worker protection campaign. Earlier in the week, Levine’s department released a report documenting that DoorDash and Uber intentionally redesigned their applications in December 2023 to make customer tipping more difficult, moving the tip option to after checkout rather than during ordering. The interface changes reduced average tips from $2.17 per delivery on competing apps to just 76 cents per delivery on DoorDash and Uber combined, costing workers an estimated $554 million in lost tips.
Delivery Workers Organized for Justice
Los Deliveristas Unidos, the collective representing delivery workers, has already achieved major policy victories through organizing and advocacy. The group successfully pushed through City Council reforms that established minimum base pay requirements and guaranteed worker access to restaurant bathrooms. These protections have made New York’s gig economy standards among the strongest nationally. The organization’s effectiveness in securing policy victories demonstrates that when workers organize and demand accountability, government can respond with meaningful enforcement.
Big Tech Companies Resist New Protections
DoorDash and Uber have actively fought enforcement of new worker protections taking effect January 26, including requirements for tipping options at checkout and expanded minimum pay for grocery delivery workers. DoorDash previously contributed $1 million to a super PAC supporting former Mayor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary, revealing corporate attempts to shape electoral outcomes in their favor. The company now claims in a statement that the interface changes were suggested by the DCWP itself, a claim Commissioner Levine flatly contested as absurd.
Mamdani’s Commitment Goes Beyond Litigation
The mayor emphasized that his administration intends to use “the tools of city government to stand up for working people wherever they are being taken advantage of.” This framing suggests the lawsuit represents not anomaly but policy direction. Mamdani specifically stated his goal is to ensure working-class New Yorkers “look to the government as an entity that can actually help them in their day-to-day struggles and one that will hold accountable those who are breaking the law.”
Broader Implications for Labor Movement
Under previous administrations, delivery app companies operated with practical impunity despite persistent wage theft. The shift toward aggressive enforcement signifies a mayoral administration prioritizing worker protections over corporate convenience. Whether Mamdani can sustain this commitment amid political pressure and budget constraints remains to be seen, but the Motoclick lawsuit represents the firmest warning yet that New York City’s gig economy companies will no longer operate consequence-free.
