App-based food delivery workers in New York City face high rates of injury and assault, especially those who rely on app delivery as their primary job, according to a new academic study by a team of CUNY researchers.
More than one in five food delivery app workers said they had been injured while working, and roughly the same number said they had been assaulted, according to the findings, which were based on a 2021 survey. Respondents who said delivery work was their main or only job were about 61% more likely to report being injured and 36% more likely to report an assault.
By comparison, about 2% of construction workers nationwide were injured on the job in 2020, according to a Department of Consumer Protection report cited in the study, which was published Monday in the Journal of Urban Health.
The researchers attribute the injury findings in part to app algorithms, which they said may incentivize workers to take risks to deliver orders quickly, including in poor weather or during traffic rush hours. The findings underscored the need for stronger labor protections for delivery workers and more accountability for the app-based companies that rely on the workers, the study said.
“They’re creating this environment which is influencing a worker’s behavior,” said Zoey Laskaris, the lead author and an occupational epidemiologist. “They’re not creating an environment in which a worker feels safe and secure in their job, so they can make better decisions to protect their own safety. Their own safety is maybe their last concern.”
Eli Scheinholtz, a spokesperson for online food ordering and food delivery platform DoorDash, criticized the study in a statement, saying worker safety is a top concern of the company.
“This so-called ‘research’ simply re-packages a deeply flawed survey conducted by the City, which the study itself concedes was not representative of the New Yorkers who are doing this work,” Scheinholtz said.
The researchers wrote that the study “may…
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