Postman In a settlement with the Office of Labor Standards, the courier company will pay nearly $1 million to fund the Seattle City’s mandatory paid sick leave program for insufficient wages and contributions.
The settlement, according to Regulations on paid sick leave and safe time for gig workers, Covering 1,646 workers, including $949,815.49 in arrears of wages, interest, and civil penalties for these workers, as well as an additional $22,260.40 in fines.
The city’s labor standards office began an investigation last fall after many workers who worked long hours during the pandemic’s surge in deliveries complained that Postmates did not pay the required sick leave and did not notify these workers of the amount of paid leave available to them.
Seattle began its investigation of food delivery services before it was acquired by Uber in December 2020.
In a statement issued by the Labor Standards Office, Postmates driver Shawn W. Gray stated that the company’s couriers should not be refused additional wages.
“Over the years, our couriers have missed many of the benefits we need, and these benefits we deserved from the beginning. Now, because of the hard work of OLS care personnel, we have gained these benefits,” he said.
An Uber spokesperson said the company is happy to shelve the matter.
Zahid Arab, Uber’s public affairs manager, said in a statement: “Although these issues occurred before we finalized the purchase of Postmates, we thank the Labor Standards Office for coordinating closely with us to correct any outstanding issues.”
“We have been working tirelessly to ensure that workers on the Postmates platform get the paid sick leave and safety time they deserve, and we look forward to continuing cooperation with the (Labor Standards Office).”
For similar reasons, Uber recently had to pay a settlement fee to the same city agency.
In June, the Labor Standards Office reached a $3.4 million settlement with Uber to settle claims for arrears of wages and unpaid sick leave. The Labor Standards Office said the money will be used to pay the unpaid claims of 15,000 local Uber drivers.
Both settlements are in line with 2012 regulations that require Seattle employers to pay employees for sick leave at a rate of 30 calendar days worked.Since the initial approval, the Labor Standards Office has Expand the group of eligible employees to include odd jobs And add it to the list of acceptable reasons for accumulative leave.