NYC delivery workers report high rates of injury and assaults. A new study blames the apps.

Published Apr 30, 2024 at 6:19 p.m. ET

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Published Apr 30, 2024 at 6:19 p.m. ET

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App-based food delivery workers in New York City face high rates of injury and assault, especially those who rely on app delivery as their primary job, according to a new academic study by a team of CUNY researchers.

More than one in five food delivery app workers said they had been injured while working, and roughly the same number said they had been assaulted, according to the findings, which were based on a 2021 survey. Respondents who said delivery work was their main or only job were about 61% more likely to report being injured and 36% more likely to report an assault.

By comparison, about 2% of construction workers nationwide were injured on the job in 2020, according to a Department of Consumer Protection report cited in the study, which was published Monday in the Journal of Urban Health.

The researchers attribute the injury findings in part to app algorithms, which they said may incentivize workers to take risks to deliver orders quickly, including in poor weather or during traffic rush hours. The findings underscored the need for stronger labor protections for delivery workers and more accountability for the app-based companies that rely on the workers, the study said.

“They're creating this environment which is influencing a worker's behavior,” said Zoey Laskaris, the lead author and an occupational epidemiologist. “They're not creating an environment in which a worker feels safe and secure in their job, so they can make better decisions to protect their own safety. Their own safety is maybe their last concern.”

Eli Scheinholtz, a spokesperson for online food ordering and food delivery platform DoorDash, criticized the study in a statement, saying worker safety is a top concern of the company.

“This so-called ‘research’ simply re-packages a deeply flawed survey conducted by the City, which the study itself concedes was not representative of the New Yorkers who are doing this work,” Scheinholtz said.

The researchers wrote that the study "may not" be representative of the larger delivery worker population in the city, given that it was a "convenience sample," rather a sample based on other more rigorous survey methods. But they say the survey is among the only datasets available on delivery worker injuries; the companies don't have to report gig workers' injuries to occupational safety and health authorities, as with traditional employees.

Patrick Burke, a spokesperson for food-delivery platform Grubhub, said in a statement that the company allows "adequate time" for workers to deliver orders. And if a worker feels they "cannot safely complete a delivery, they can decline the offer without penalty," he added.

The study said it was based on a survey of over 1,600 local delivery workers in late 2021 commissioned by the city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. The agency released some initial findings in a report the following year, to help determine the minimum wage for delivery workers.

The city’s report estimated that some 61,000 app-based delivery workers live in New York City, at the time making $4.03 per hour before tips. The minimum wage for the workers was raised to $17.96 last year. The number of delivery workers has likely grown since the city’s count; an influx of migrants brought tens of thousands of newcomers to the city, starting in 2022. Many of them turned to delivery work to support themselves.

Researchers also found that deliveristas on e-bikes and scooters also face more hazards. Injuries and assaults were twice as common among surveyed workers who use e-bikes and mopeds, compared to cars, according to the study.

And workers with limited English abilities were more likely to experience assault, the study found. The researchers suggested that was in part due to discrimination against foreign-born workers.

Lead author Laskaris, also an assistant professor at the Barry Commoner Center at Queens College, said the largely “disadvantaged,” non-white and foreign-born, app-based workforce may face heightened economic pressure to meet the demands placed on them by the app-based companies.

Researchers told Gothamist that the classification of app-based delivery workers as independent contractors remains a major issue. As contractors, the workers lack the same benefits as full employees, including insurance and worker’s compensation.

“The companies seem to reap the perks without any of the burden,” said Mustafa Hussein, one of the report authors and an assistant professor of health policy and management at CUNY's Graduate School of Public Health.

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