Verification audit

Exact match. Seattle OLS App-Based Worker Research page (April 2026 report) states "The average network company payment, or 'base payment,' per engaged hour was $30.12, after subtracting mileage expenses incurred during actively engaged time." This is observed data from mandatory company reporting, not a calculated minimum. Covers Jan 15, 2024 to June 29, 2025 (first 18 months of SMC 8.37). Five largest network companies, 92,000 workers, 15 million offers.

The published net_hourly_usd: 21.86 is a tax/expense calculation derived from the gross figure.

This is the strongest data point in the dataset because (a) it's not a calculated floor — it's observed actual base payment from mandatory company submissions; (b) Seattle's SMC 8.37 ordinance is the strictest enforcement framework in the US; (c) the report distinguishes "engaged hour" pay ($30.12) from "pay for time online" ($15.98 per hour with all logged-in time, including waiting, included). The latter is closer to what drivers actually take home per hour worked. Both numbers are real; we publish the engaged-hour figure but should be ready to cite the time-online figure when comparison is needed.

New OLS report supersedes April 2026 figures. SMC 8.37 amendment changes calculation. Industry legal challenge succeeds.

2026-07-29 (also: watch for Q3 2026 OLS report which would update the figure)

NYC DCWP press release dated January 2026 confirming Local Law 115 inflation adjustment from $21.44 to $22.13 effective April 1, 2026. Multiple independent corroborations (DCWP Delivery Worker Rights page, Mamdani administration mayoral statement, third-party legal analyses).

The published net_hourly_usd: 16.02 is a tax/expense calculation derived from the gross figure; the methodology of that derivation was not separately re-verified.

This is the LEGAL MINIMUM PAY RATE for engaged time, enforced by mandatory monthly reporting from delivery apps. Workers may earn more (tips, multi-app strategies). Rate covers food and grocery delivery (the latter newly covered effective Jan 26, 2026).

Inflation adjustment in April 2027 will produce a new figure. DCWP enforcement gaps if surfaced. Court ruling overturning Local Law 115.

2026-07-29

sf.gov Minimum Wage Ordinance page confirms current SF minimum wage is $19.18/hr (until July 1, 2026, then rises to $19.61). Prop 22 mechanism confirmed at the LA verification step (same applies to SF).

The arithmetic $19.18 × 1.20 = $23.016 ≈ $23.02 was performed by us, not cited directly. Considered structurally correct given the verified inputs.

Same as LA above — this is the engaged-time legal floor, not actual hourly earnings. UC Berkeley 2024 study covers SF Bay Area gig drivers and found similar gap between floor and reality.

SF city min wage increase July 1, 2026 (rate becomes $23.53). Same Prop 22-level events as LA.

2026-07-29 (and again immediately after July 1, 2026 SF min wage increase)

LA Office of Wage Standards confirms current LA city minimum wage is $17.87/hr (effective until July 1, 2026, then rises to $18.42). Prop 22 mechanism (120% of local minimum at pickup location, plus $0.37/mile) confirmed across multiple sources (Grubhub driver support, Gopuff driver support, UC Berkeley Labor Center analysis).

The arithmetic $17.87 × 1.20 = $21.44 was performed by us, not cited from any source page directly. Considered structurally correct given the verified inputs.

This is the ENGAGED-TIME LEGAL FLOOR — the minimum a CA driver receives for time spent on an active delivery. It is NOT actual hourly earnings. UC Berkeley's 2024 study found California gig delivery drivers' actual employee-equivalent earnings were $4.98/hr without tips and $11.43/hr with tips, after expenses, well below the engaged-time floor. The floor applies to engaged time only and is paid as a per-pay-period adjustment if individual deliveries fall short. Most drivers spend significant unpaid time waiting for orders, which is excluded from this calculation. The figure should be cited as "the Prop 22 engaged-time floor, not actual earnings."

LA city min wage increase July 1, 2026 (will raise floor to $22.10). Court ruling against Prop 22. Change to the 120% multiplier. CA state-level gig worker reform.

2026-07-29 (and again immediately after July 1, 2026 LA min wage increase)

Lieferando courier recruitment page contains the exact string "base wage of €13.90 per hour" for full-time directly-employed Scoober couriers, plus paid vacation, sick pay, and full health/social insurance. Cross-corroborated by Fairwork Germany 2025 third-round ratings (~€14.50/hr including delivery and distance bonuses).

• EUR/USD exchange rate: $14.30 = €13.36 implies a rate of ~1.07 USD/EUR. The exact rate at publish time was not pulled from a live FX API; this rate is approximate, sourced from training data circa April 2026. If actual current rate has moved more than ±3% from 1.07, the USD figure may be off by a similar amount.
• That the Lieferando rate generalizes to "delivery worker pay in Berlin" — Lieferando is the dominant employer (formerly Just Eat / Takeaway.com) but Wolt and other contractor-model platforms operate differently and may pay more or less. Our value reflects the largest-employer rate, not a market median.

This is base wage for DIRECTLY EMPLOYED couriers under German labor law (full benefits, taxes withheld). Contractor-model couriers (e.g., some Wolt workers) operate under different arrangements and may have different gross/net dynamics. The €13.90 figure is the floor; actual earnings including bonuses are ~€14.50/hr per Fairwork. The figure should be cited as "Lieferando's published base wage for employed couriers."

Lieferando publishes a new rate. German federal minimum wage (Mindestlohn) increase in January 2027 may pull this up. Major EUR/USD movement >5%.

2026-07-29 (and immediately after Lieferando publishes a rate update or Mindestlohn rises)

ARPE (Autorité des Relations Sociales des Plateformes d'Emploi, French government regulator mandated by Code des transports) published their 2026 annual delivery platform report on April 24, 2026. The report states Uber Eats had a gross hourly revenue per engaged course of €21.50/hr in 2025, an increase of 4.7% YoY (the only platform showing increase). Other platforms in same report: Deliveroo €25.70/hr, Stuart €22.70/hr, Delicity €35.40/hr. Multiple independent French press corroborations (CNews, France Info, Actu Niort, Hellowork). Uber Eats is France's largest delivery platform (~60,000 active livreurs).

• EUR/USD exchange rate: $23.00 = €21.50 implies a rate of ~1.07 USD/EUR. The exact rate at publish time was not pulled from a live FX API; rate is approximate from training data circa April 2026.
• That the Uber Eats figure represents Paris specifically — ARPE publishes national figures, not city-level. Paris is the largest delivery market in France but rural/secondary-city rates may differ.
• The published net_hourly_usd: 17.71 (~77% of gross) is a tax/expense estimate — does not account for actual French auto-entrepreneur social charges (URSSAF cotisations ~22% on revenue minus deductions) which we have not modeled precisely.

This is the ENGAGED-TIME GROSS figure during course time only. It does NOT include waiting time between orders. ARPE itself states: "this strongly overestimates actual net income." Same caveat as our LA/SF Prop 22 figures. French delivery riders are auto-entrepreneurs (independent contractors); social charges and vehicle costs reduce take-home substantially. April 2025 source data showed Uber Eats actual time-online earnings of ~€10/hr, vs ARPE's €21.50/hr engaged-only. Cite as "ARPE-published Uber Eats engaged-hour gross" not "what Paris drivers earn."

ARPE 2027 report supersedes 2026. EU Platform Workers Directive transposition into French law by December 2026 may reclassify drivers as employees. Major EUR/USD movement.

2026-07-29

sandiego.gov Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement notice, dated October 1, 2025: "The City of San Diego's minimum wage rate will increase to $17.75 per hour, effective January 1, 2026." Confirmed by official sandiego.gov press release PDF (October 6, 2025) and city press coverage. California Proposition 22 (codified in Business and Professions Code § 7451) requires app-based rideshare and delivery contractors to receive at least 120% of the minimum wage at the location where the delivery is picked up, applied to engaged time only. $17.75 × 1.20 = $21.30/hr.

• That platforms (Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub) are actually paying the Prop 22 floor in San Diego specifically. Same as LA/SF — we have no independent observation that platforms are complying. UC Berkeley Labor Center research suggests floor compliance in SF is real but actual earnings frequently fall below floor-equivalent due to engagement-time-vs-actual-time gap.
• The published net_hourly_usd: 15.34 is approximated (~72% of gross) — does not account for individual driver fuel/maintenance costs.

Identical caveats to LA/SF. This is the ENGAGED-TIME GROSS floor — what platforms are required to pay during active courses. It does NOT include waiting time between orders. UC Berkeley research found California delivery drivers' actual median full-shift earnings of $4.98-$11.43/hr after expenses, far below the engaged-time floor. The $21.30 figure is what's legally mandated for engaged time, not what San Diego drivers take home per hour worked. Cite as "Prop 22 engaged-time floor" not "what San Diego drivers earn." Methodologically identical to LA and SF entries; only the city minimum wage value differs.

City minimum wage change (San Diego raises annually with CPI). Prop 22 repeal or amendment (currently legally challenged but standing as of 2026-04). California legislative reclassification of platform workers as employees.

2026-07-29

IBGE (Brazilian federal statistics agency, equivalent to US BLS) released their PNAD Contínua October 17, 2025 — first official survey of platform workers in Brazil. App delivery workers (entregadores) earn R$2,340/month gross on average, working 44.8 hours per week (5.5 hours more than the private-sector average of 39.3). Multi-platform (iFood, Rappi, Uber Eats, Loggi). Calculation: R$2,340 / (44.8 × 4.33 weeks/month) = R$12.07/hr brut.

• BRL/USD exchange rate: $2.41 = R$12.07 implies a rate of ~0.20 USD/BRL. Approximate, not pulled from live API.
• São Paulo specificity: IBGE PNAD is national, not city-level. São Paulo specifically may have somewhat higher rates due to higher cost of living and order density, but PNAD doesn't break out by city. Our value is therefore the Brazilian national average, applied to the São Paulo data point.
• The published net_hourly_usd: 1.93 is approximated (~80% of gross) but real net depends heavily on fuel/maintenance costs which vary by transport mode (motoboy vs cyclist).

This is the FIRST OFFICIAL Brazilian government data on platform delivery workers. Cebrap's 2023 research found liquid hourly of ~R$23/hr after costs, but that survey was in São Paulo's central business district (Avenida Paulista to Faria Lima) and may not represent broader market. The IBGE figure is the most defensible national average. Brazilian delivery work has very long hours (44.8 hrs/week vs 39.3 private-sector average), so the per-hour figure is honest but the weekly/monthly burden is higher than US comparisons would suggest. Hourly figure is gross; after fuel and motorcycle/bike maintenance, take-home may be 60-70% of gross.

New IBGE PNAD release supersedes Oct 2025 data (typically annual). Brazilian regulatory reform (currently proposed: "transparência algorítmica" rules for 2026; R$10/delivery floor under discussion). Major BRL/USD movement.

2026-07-29

Government of Ontario official explainer page for the Digital Platform Workers Rights Act, 2022 (last updated July 24, 2025) confirms: "You have the right to be paid at least the general minimum wage set out in the Employment Standards Act, 2000." DPWRA came into force July 1, 2025 and applies to "ride share, delivery or courier services performed by a worker for payment who is offered work assignments by an operator through an online digital platform." Ontario general minimum wage rate as of April 29, 2026: CAD $17.60/hour. Confirmed by the ontario.ca minimum wage guide. Increasing to CAD $17.95/hour effective October 1, 2026 per CPI-indexed annual adjustment under the ESA. URL fetched and content-verified 2026-04-29.

• Whether platforms (Uber Eats, DoorDash, Skip the Dishes, Instacart) have implemented the DPWRA mandate in practice as of the verification date. The legal right to this minimum is verified; actual platform compliance is not separately confirmed here.
• CAD/USD exchange rate: $12.85 = CAD $17.60 implies ~0.73 USD/CAD. Approximate, not pulled from a live FX API.
• The published net_hourly_local: 12.67 (~72% of gross) is a tax/expense estimate; real net depends on individual circumstances under Canadian tax law.

DPWRA covers "work assignment" time only (similar to California Prop 22 engaged-time methodology), not full-shift time including waiting between assignments. Per City of Toronto's 2021 vehicle-for-hire impact report (referenced by CBC News reporting), platform workers spend roughly 40% of their total time at work waiting for the next trip, which is not covered by the DPWRA minimum. Critics including Gig Workers United (Jennifer Scott, president) have publicly stated the legislation "denies workers minimum wage for the entire time that we're at work." The figure should be cited as "the Ontario DPWRA engaged-time floor" not "what Toronto delivery drivers earn." DPWRA does not reclassify workers as employees; they remain independent contractors with this minimum-pay protection layered on top.

DPWRA being struck down or amended. Ontario lowering the general minimum wage (CPI-indexed by statute, so unlikely). The official explainer page being removed or revised in a way that contradicts the cited rate. Major CAD/USD movement >5%.

2026-10-15 (after October 1, 2026 ESA rate change to $17.95/hour)

BC Employment Standards Regulation Part 4 Section 18.2 (Government of British Columbia, gov.bc.ca official regulation page) confirms a delivery services worker and ride-hail services worker minimum wage. The cited rate appears explicitly on the page: "the current minimum wage in effect as of June 1, 2025 is $21.43." This rate is 120% of BC's general minimum wage and applies only to "engaged time" (between accepting and completing a work assignment). The Online Platform Workers Regulation (Bill 48) came into force September 3, 2024, was Canada's first regulation of its kind, and was confirmed by BC Government press release at news.gov.bc.ca dated June 12, 2024. URL fetched and content-verified 2026-04-29.

• CAD/USD exchange rate: $15.64 = CAD $21.43 implies ~0.73 USD/CAD. Approximate, not pulled from a live FX API.
• The published net_hourly_local: 15.43 (~72% of gross) is a tax/expense estimate. BC platform workers are deemed employees under the ESA (Bill 48 specifically), so standard payroll deductions apply rather than self-employed Schedule SE-equivalent treatment.
• Whether platforms (Uber Eats, DoorDash, SkipTheDishes, Instacart) are paying the engaged-time minimum in practice via the required pay-period top-up mechanism is not separately verified here; the regulation is the legal floor.

The CAD $21.43/hr rate applies to ENGAGED TIME ONLY — defined as the period from accepting a platform work offer through to its completion or cancellation. Time spent waiting between assignments is not covered. BC's regulation is structurally stronger than Ontario's DPWRA in two specific ways: (1) it deems online platform workers to be EMPLOYEES under the ESA (vs. Ontario's protected-contractor approach), and (2) the rate is 120% of general minimum wage rather than parity. Distance expense allowance of CAD $0.35/km is paid in addition to the engaged-time wage (vs. CAD $0.45/km for ride-hail). Tips are protected and cannot be credited against the minimum wage. Annual June 1 CPI-indexed adjustment under section 16.2(3) of the ESA. Cite as "BC's mandated engaged-time minimum for online platform delivery workers."

Bill 48 being repealed or substantially amended. The cited regulation page being modified in a way that contradicts the rate. Annual June 1 CPI adjustment will produce a new figure (likely effective June 1, 2026 at CPI + ~$21.43). Major CAD/USD movement >5%.

2026-07-29 (and again immediately after June 1, 2026 CPI rate adjustment)