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The Mamdani administration is asking a federal court to block a delivery app from operating in New York City, alleging the company paid workers as little as $3.67 an hour in violation of the city's minimum wage laws.
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and the city's Law Department filed a motion June 24 seeking a preliminary injunction that would prohibit Patio Delivery Inc., which operates under the name Motoclick, from continuing to do business in the city unless it complies with the city's delivery worker pay requirements.
The filing marks the first time DCWP has sought a preliminary injunction to enforce New York City's delivery worker protections.
"Paying New York delivery workers poverty wages is not only wrong—it's illegal," DCWP Commissioner Samuel Levine said in a statement. "DCWP is asking the Court to shut Motoclick down unless and until it comes into compliance. New York will not allow this company to continue underpaying New Yorkers."
The motion stems from a lawsuit the city filed against Motoclick in January, alleging the company systematically underpaid workers and took fees from their earnings. According to the city, Motoclick's own reports submitted to DCWP showed workers earning between $3.67 and $4.67 an hour in May—far below the required minimum of $22.13 an hour.
The city estimates the company and its chief executive officer, Juan Pablo Salinas Salek, owe workers millions of dollars in unpaid wages.
Corporation Counsel Steve Banks said the city would continue pursuing employers that violate local labor protections.
"Paying hardworking delivery workers as little as three to four dollars an hour is not only morally wrong, it's illegal," Banks said in a statement. "The City of New York will not tolerate companies that abuse their workers and violate our local laws."
Motoclick did not respond to a request for comment.
When he announced the lawsuit in January, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his administration would aggressively pursue employers that violate worker protections.
"To those who think they can make a profit while stealing from their workers and breaking the law, make no mistake," Mamdani said at the time. "We will have those workers' backs each and every time."
Commissioner Levine accused Motoclick then of "brazenly" disregarding the city's minimum pay requirements and stealing workers' tips, adding that the city was seeking damages from both the company and its CEO, Juan Pablo Salinas Salek, whom he alleged had "robb[ed] [workers] of millions of dollars."
According to court filings, third-party food and grocery delivery platforms must submit monthly payroll data to DCWP so the agency can monitor compliance with the city's minimum pay rule. The city alleges Motoclick's April 2026 report showed workers were underpaid by more than $172,000 in a single week, while its May report reflected hourly pay rates well below the legal minimum.
The case against Motoclick, City of New York v. Patio Delivery Inc., is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The city's minimum pay rule for app-based delivery workers, enacted under Local Law 115 of 2021, took effect in 2023 and requires companies to pay a minimum hourly rate that adjusts with inflation. The rate increased to $22.13 per hour in April following a 3.2 percent inflation adjustment.
The motion comes as the Mamdani administration continues to emphasize protections against the exploitation of workers. According to DCWP, the agency has secured more than $9.3 million in restitution for workers, consumers and small businesses since the administration took office, including nearly $5 million recovered this year for delivery workers employed through Uber Eats, Fantuan and HungryPanda.
Worker advocates said the city's latest legal action confirmed such claims by the Mamdani administration.
"Delivery workers fought for years to win New York City's minimum pay protections, and those rights only have meaning when they are enforced," said Ligia Guallpa, executive director of the Workers Justice Project and co-founder of Los Deliveristas Unidos, an organization which represents app delivery drivers. She called the alleged violations "some of the most brazen alleged wage theft we have seen in this industry."
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