DoorDash spent about $1.4 million during New York City’s 2025 mayoral election cycle on efforts opposing Zohran Mamdani and supporting his political opponents. Nearly a year later, the company has agreed to pay $131.5 million to resolve a New York City investigation into the underpayment and late payment of delivery workers.
The political spending and the settlement are separate events, but their timing has drawn renewed attention to DoorDash’s relationship with Mamdani and his administration.
During the 2025 mayoral race, DoorDash was among the major corporate donors supporting efforts against Mamdani. The company contributed $1 million to Fix the City, a super PAC that campaigned against his candidacy, while its overall spending connected to the race reached about $1.4 million.
Mamdani went on to win the election and become New York City mayor.
On September 22, 2026, his administration announced a $131.5 million enforcement settlement with DoorDash following an investigation by the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP).
The settlement provides more than $115 million directly to approximately 264,000 delivery workers, while more than $16 million will go toward civil penalties and related costs. The city described it as the largest worker settlement in New York City history.
The investigation found that DoorDash had failed to pay some workers in full or on time and had disputed how certain online and on-call time should be calculated under New York City’s delivery-worker pay rules.
DoorDash acknowledged that mistakes had occurred but said they were not intentional. The company attributed some of the payment problems to technical issues and complicated delivery situations, including trips crossing city boundaries. It also said it had agreed to use the city’s method for calculating certain payments rather than continue a potentially lengthy dispute.
The settlement includes approximately $83 million related to the dispute over how online and on-call time was calculated, $12.3 million for missing or late payments and $16.7 million in fines to the city.
The city will also introduce a monitoring system designed to identify future violations. Under the agreement, workers will be able to share their DoorDash earnings and trip data with the city, giving regulators an additional way to detect potential underpayments.
The political spending has therefore resurfaced alongside the settlement, particularly because Mamdani campaigned on stronger protections for workers and his administration ultimately oversaw the enforcement action against DoorDash.
However, the available evidence does not establish that DoorDash’s 2025 political spending caused the subsequent investigation or settlement, nor does it establish that the settlement was retaliation for the company’s political activity. The two developments should be reported as separate events that have attracted attention because of their connection to Mamdani.
DoorDash said the settlement was intended to resolve the dispute and ensure affected workers receive the money they are owed.
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