In a move that could reshape the delivery landscape, Instacart filed a lawsuit against New York City on Tuesday. The company is asking a federal judge in Manhattan to prevent the city from enforcing five new regulations that affect how it operates. Among the rules are those that set a minimum wage for app‑based workers and those that require firms to give customers more information about tipping.
According to the complaint, Congress has repeatedly said that states and cities can’t set prices or impose extra obligations on customers who use platforms like Instacart. However, New York’s state legislature has “long taken charge” of minimum‑pay standards for gig workers. Instacart argues that the U.S. Constitution protects out‑of‑state businesses from being singled out by local ordinances.
The lawsuit focuses on Local Law 124, which demands that grocery‑delivery workers receive the same minimum wage that restaurant‑delivery workers receive. Another targeted rule, Local Law 107, requires that customers be offered a tip option equal to at least 10% of the purchase price, or the ability to enter a custom tip amount. Additional laws in the bill call for increased record‑keeping and disclosure obligations.
These laws will go into effect on Jan. 26. Instacart claims that, without an injunction, the city’s enforcement of them would drive up delivery costs, hurting both consumers and grocers. “This legal challenge is about standing up for fairness, for the independence that tens of thousands of New York grocery delivery workers rely on, and for affordable access to groceries for the people who need it most,” the company said in a recent blog post.
The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, one of the defendants, has not yet responded. Instacart is the operating name of the publicly traded company Maplebear.
The company says that the new laws are an outgrowth of protections that were originally designed for restaurant delivery workers, who saw rapid growth during the pandemic. Instacart maintains that its business model thrives on the flexibility, independence, and convenience that its platform delivers. “The local laws will degrade that business,” the complaint reads.
If the court denies the injunction, Instacart warns that it will have to overhaul its platform, limit workers’ opportunities, break relationships with customers and retailers, and face constitutional violations that currently have no adequate legal remedy. Mayor Eric Adams has publicly opposed the minimum‑pay law, and he did not sign off on the tipping rule when the City Council approved it in September.
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