For Immediate Release
Contact Information
Cynthia Santana
Phone: 206-256-5219
Email: cynthia.santana@seattle.gov
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Office of Labor Standards Investigation Uncovers Several Alleged Violations of Seattle Gig Worker Protections by Crowdsourced Delivery Platform
Seattle, WA – (August 29, 2023) The Seattle Office of Labor Standards (OLS) investigated Roadie, Inc., a crowdsourced delivery platform, for alleged violations of the Gig Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance and the Gig Worker Premium Pay Ordinance.
The company agreed to pay a total financial remedy of $822,159.44 to 1,536 drivers and $23,365 to the City of Seattle to settle the case.
OLS alleged that for over two years the company failed to:
- Provide delivery workers with paid sick and safe time (PSST);
- Provide workers notice of their PSST balance;
- Provide workers with a notice of PSST rights and the company’s PSST policy;
- Provide premium pay; and
- Provide workers with a notice of premium pay rights.
In response to receiving a preliminary Notice of Investigation from OLS identifying the alleged violations in December 2022, Roadie paid gig workers back wages and interest under the Gig Worker Premium Pay Ordinance and provided gig workers with the PSST days that they should have accrued under the Gig Worker PSST Ordinance. Total financial remedies include the amounts the company paid in December 2022.
“Premium pay and PSST are critical for workers to achieve fair payment and a work/life balance. What was missing during the pandemic is now in place. On behalf of Roadie drivers in Seattle I’d like to say thank you to Seattle OLS for standing up for worker rights,” said Ryan Georgi, Roadie driver.
The Gig Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance went into effect on July 13, 2020, during the pandemic and applied to gig workers of Food Delivery Network Companies (FDNC) and Transportation Network Companies (TNC) of 250 or more gig workers worldwide.
As of January 1, 2023, TNC workers were no longer covered by Seattle’s Gig Worker PSST Ordinance but are covered by a new state-paid sick leave law.
As of May 1, 2023, FDNC workers were no longer covered by the Gig Worker PSST Ordinance but are covered by a new law called the App-Based Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance, which makes permanent many of the rights and obligations under the temporary Gig Worker PSST Ordinance.
Beginning on January 13, 2024, all app-based workers who work at a network company that hires more than 250 workers will be covered by the App-Based Worker PSST Ordinance.
“Gig workers are an essential part of Seattle’s economy and deserve to have basic rights under the law. While these laws and who enforces them may have undergone changes, gig workers still have protections and OLS will continue to enforce them,” said OLS Director Steven Marchese.
To learn more about Seattle’s labor standards please click here, or call 206-256-5297.
- Help for workers and the public: to ask a question, file a complaint, or provide information, call 206-256-5297, email workers.laborstandards@seattle.gov, or click here to fill out a worker inquiry web form.
- Help for employers, hiring entities, and network companies: for free and private assistance for compliance with Seattle’s labor standards, call 206-256-5297, email business.laborstandards@seattle.gov or click here to fill out an employer inquiry web form.
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