ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) – Two DoorDash drivers have filed a class action lawsuit over allegations the on-demand food delivery service did not pay them 100 percent of tips as advertised.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division on Feb. 8.
Georgia residents Jamie Webb and Aaron Hodge filed the lawsuit against DoorDash over allegations of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, wantonness, declaratory judgment, injunctive relief and damages. They allege DoorDash, which delivers groceries from Walmart and food from franchise and local restaurants, inappropriately took tips, causing them not to be paid the full amount they were owed despite DoorDash’s advertisement that its workers, or "Dashers," would receive 100 percent of the customer tip.
“DoorDash changed [its] tipping policy by using a customer’s tip to pay the Dasher’s base rate,” according to the lawsuit. “This contradicts DoorDash’s explicit representations, including statements on its website and to plaintiffs and class members that ‘if the base pay (plus) tip is less than the guaranteed minimum offered, Dashers will receive the guaranteed minimum amount.”
The suit states that the agreement was if the base pay and tip is larger than the guaranteed amount, Dashers will get the base pay and the tip. The plaintiffs allege DoorDash deceived both customers and drivers as tips were supposed to go to the driver in addition to the driver's base pay. They allege because DoorDash used the tips to pay the base rate, they were financially harmed.
The plaintiffs requested the court certify the class action and issue a final judgment against DoorDash, as well as an injunction that would order DoorDash to “inform each class member of the true nature of the compensation system employed by defendant and requiring that tips that were rightfully earned by provided to the plaintiffs and class members,” according to the lawsuit.
They also asked the court to disgorge the tips and asked for an injunction that would oblige DoorDash to fully disclose the alleged compensation scheme. The plaintiffs also asked for punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, court costs and a trial by jury.
The plaintiffs are represented by Heninger Garrison Davis in Atlanta and Birmingham, Alabama.