You can tell a lot about a company by what they are willing to get sued for. Take Instacart, which recently filed a lawsuit against the City of New York. Is it beef? The company doesn’t like five new city laws that take effect in January. They would require Instacart to pay workers more and give customers a tipping option of at least 10 percent.
reuters Instacart’s lawsuit is reported to target Local Law 124, which mandates that grocery delivery workers receive the same minimum wage as restaurant delivery workers. It also challenged Local Law 107, which mandates a 10 percent or more tipping option (or entering it manually). The lawsuit also takes aim at other laws requiring additional recordkeeping and disclosure. The new rules are to come into effect from January 26.
As is common for companies to be concerned about regulations that hurt their profits, Instacart has framed this issue as a great fight for what’s right. “When a law threatens to harm shoppers, consumers and local grocers — and especially when it does so unlawfully — it is our responsibility to act,” the company announced in a blog post. “This legal challenge is about standing up for fairness, the independence that thousands of New York grocery delivery workers rely on, and affordable access to groceries for those who need it most.”
Instacart’s lawsuit reportedly claims that Congress prohibits state and local governments from regulating prices on platforms like its own. It also alleges that New York’s state legislature “has long taken charge” of the minimum wage, and that the U.S. Constitution does not allow states and cities to discriminate against out-of-state companies.
The company has warned that everyone will suffer losses if it is forced to comply. Should the laws go into effect, “Instacart would be forced to restructure its platform, restrict shoppers’ access to work, disrupt relationships with consumers and retailers, and suffer constitutional injuries without any adequate legal remedy,” she claimed in the filing.
Instacart CEO Chris Rogers, who was promoted to the position in May, has an estimated net worth of at least $28.6 million. His predecessor, Fidji Simo, who is chairman of the board and now with OpenAI, is reportedly worth about $72.7 million. If NYC’s minimum wage laws would be as devastating as Instacart claims, perhaps they could step in to help.
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