Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Alcohol delivery workers in NY, allegedly stiffed for millions in tips, to share $4M payout
By
Herb Pinder
Published Dec 17, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
By
Herb Pinder
Published Dec 17, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
More than 8,300 delivery workers allegedly cheated out of tip money by defunct alcohol-delivery platform Drizly will share a $4 million payout – or about $500 apiece – under a restitution agreement announced Monday by the New York attorney general’s office.
The funds will go to former delivery workers across the state, including 1,375 in New York City, where stores in every borough partnered with Drizly, the attorney general's office said. The agreement includes an additional $200,000 payment to a settlement administrator charged with distributing the funds.
“Drizly misled its customers by encouraging them to tip and then failing to make sure those tips went to the delivery workers who earned them,” Letitia James, the attorney general, said in a statement.
James added: “So many delivery workers work paycheck to paycheck, and denying them their hard-earned tips could mean the difference between making ends meet and not being able to put food on the table.”
Ashley L. Taylor Jr., an attorney representing Drizly, declined to comment on the agreement, which resolves allegations of wage theft and fraud. In court documents, Drizly admitted no wrongdoing.
The agreement adds to a growing list of recent recoveries from local employers accused of not paying workers, including $17 million for home health care workers, $328 million to app-based delivers, and lesser amounts to employers ranging from pizza restaurants to laundry workers. Often, the claimants are noncitizens lacking legal immigration status, which immigrant advocates say keeps many of those denied pay from stepping forward.
Drizly began operations in New York City in 2013, was acquired by Uber in 2021 and shut down by Uber in March 2024, when Uber consolidated its food and alcohol delivery services under Uber Eats.
According to the attorney general’s investigation, Drizly pressed customers hard for tips, adding a 10% default tip, which could be adjusted, on every tab. The platform begged, “We humbly ask that you tip drivers, as they are critical in making every Drizly delivery a reality.”
But the platform did nothing to ensure the tip proceeds went to workers, according to the attorney general's office. It said Drizly instead sent all of the tips to store owners, and encouraged stores to engage in “tip pooling,” or splitting tips among all employees, rather than earmark funds for those who earned the tips. Tip pooling is unlawful for liquor store workers in New York, the attorney general's office noted.
Drily “did not implement any mechanism to ensure the delivery workers received the money intended for them. As a result, many delivery workers did not receive all of the tips they earned,” the office's investigation determined.
Eligible workers delivered for Drizly from Jan. 1, 2018, through August 2023, according to court documents. In New York City, the overwhelming majority of delivery workers are non-white, more than 80% work full-time as deliverers and nearly half support a child or family members on their delivery wages, according to data cited by the attorney general.
Tagged
new york city
Asylum Seekers
Letitita James
Race And Justice Unit
economy
employment
Herb Pinder
Herb is the editor of the Race & Justice unit. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-922-2497.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Early Addition: Is Canal Street finally getting wider sidewalks?
Because officials said work is expected to begin this fall, here are your early links: A world where Times Square and Herald Square meld together, Yankees are moving on, Pete Davidson gripes about the BQE and more.
By
James Ramsay
Published Oct 1, 2026 at 8:58 a.m. ET
A man who died on Rikers treated as ‘less than a human’ as family wages $25 million lawsuit
A DOC report reveals that John Price waited over three hours for medical treatment before he later died.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
News
A man who died on Rikers treated as ‘less than a human’ as family wages $25 million lawsuit
A DOC report reveals that John Price waited over three hours for medical treatment before he later died.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Flushing is getting a facelift. Some worry the project will fuel more displacement.
By
Arya Sundaram
School buses still failing to show up for many NYC students with disabilities
By
Jessica Gould
New apartments are coming and there’s nothing these 12 neighborhoods can do to stop it
By
David Brand
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .