Delivery

Seattle council green lights hazard pay for food delivery workers

Photo by istock.com

June 17, 2020

Food delivery vendors in Seattle now will pay drivers $2.50 per delivery in addition to standard pay rates thanks to a new law approved by the city council.

The hazard pay is aimed at helping drivers deal with the additional costs from delivering during the COVID-19 pandemic which include cleaning items and protective gear, according to GeekWire.

The pay requirement will be in place until the state's state of emergency is over and automatically repealed in three years.

Initially the bill's sponsors sought a $5 hazard pay addition which delivery services said could put delivery platforms out of business. The law prevents grocery food delivery services from adding the cost to customer bills. It only applies to drivers for food delivery networks and does not include ride share companies, noted the report.