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In the United States, a delivery worker’s pay and protections depend first on the work arrangement and the law that applies—not just on an app’s label or a tax form. Federal wage law, federal tax rules, and state or local protections use different tests, so the answer can vary by location and by the facts of the job.
Start with your location, payer, and the protection you need
Before deciding what rules may apply, identify:
- The state and city where you perform deliveries. State and local rules may provide protections beyond federal law.
- The company or platform that pays you, and whether another business sets your schedule or assigns the work.
- What the arrangement requires in practice: how you receive offers, whether you can reject them, who sets routes or delivery deadlines, and who pays operating costs.
- The question you are trying to resolve: wages or overtime, taxes, an injury, unemployment, leave, or another workplace protection. Different agencies and legal tests may govern each.
This guide covers the United States generally. It does not determine an individual worker’s status or establish the rules for a particular state, city, or platform.
How to tell whether you may be an employee or an independent contractor
For federal wage-and-hour purposes, the Department of Labor (DOL) looks at the economic realities of the entire working relationship. The DOL’s Fact Sheet 13 puts it this way: “The economic realities of the entire working relationship are looked at to decide whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.” A contract label, app profile, or Form 1099 does not by itself settle the question.
The IRS makes a separate determination for federal tax purposes using common-law evidence grouped into three areas: behavioral control, financial control, and the type of relationship. The IRS and DOL tests are related, but they are not interchangeable. An IRS tax-status determination does not automatically resolve whether someone is an employee under wage law or another statute.
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What to examine in the actual working relationship
- Control over the work: Who sets delivery timing, routes, procedures, or performance requirements? Can you meaningfully choose how to complete a job?
- Choice and bargaining power: Can you negotiate pay, accept or reject individual offers, or work for other businesses? Do those choices affect your opportunities?
- Costs and financial risk: Who supplies and pays for a vehicle, phone, fuel, repairs, or other operating expenses? Can you manage costs or make a profit or loss through business decisions?
- Continuity and relationship: Is there an ongoing obligation to work or provide assignments? Does the relationship include benefits or other employee-like terms?
- The specific right at issue: Which law is being applied? A conclusion under federal tax rules is not necessarily the conclusion under federal wage law, workers’ compensation law, or state or local rules.
No single item in this list decides status. The relevant agency or court considers the applicable test and the full circumstances.
What pay and overtime rules may apply
Under the DOL’s Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overview page, accessed October 7, 2026, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, a rate the page says has applied since July 24, 2009. Covered nonexempt employees generally must receive at least that amount. If both federal and state or local minimum-wage laws cover the worker, the higher applicable minimum wage applies.
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Covered nonexempt employees generally qualify for overtime at one and one-half times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Coverage and employee status matter: these federal wage rules do not automatically apply to everyone who makes deliveries through an app. State or local law may set different or additional requirements.
Keep the parts of your earnings separate
When checking your pay, distinguish hourly or base pay from tips, bonuses, reimbursements, and expenses. A payment total can obscure whether the applicable wage floor was met or which costs you paid yourself. Keep records of hours worked, delivery offers and completed jobs, tips, reimbursements, and work-related expenses.
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Federal law permits a tip credit only when an employer meets specific conditions for a tipped employee. If an eligible employer uses a tip credit and the worker’s cash wages plus tips do not reach the federal minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference. Whether a particular delivery role qualifies for tipped-employee treatment, and whether a tip credit is allowed, depends on the applicable law and circumstances.
Which benefits and protections may depend on employee status
Being treated as an employee can affect access to protections such as minimum wage and overtime, family and medical leave, anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation protections, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and employer contributions toward Social Security and Medicare taxes. These are examples, not guaranteed entitlements: coverage, eligibility, and remedies depend on the law, the facts, and the worker’s location.
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Injury coverage requires a location-specific check
Do not assume that a delivery platform provides workers’ compensation or other injury coverage. The IRS directs people injured while working for private companies or state and local government agencies to their state workers’ compensation officials; it separately describes federal workers’ compensation programs for covered federal employees. Applicable state rules and the terms of any current insurance policy can matter.
Review platform policies and any insurance certificates, and check the conditions of your personal or commercial auto or e-bike coverage. If an injury occurs, preserve relevant medical, work, and insurance documentation and contact the workers’ compensation officials for the state where the work took place.
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What the New York City example does—and does not—show
A November 2022 study by New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection provides a local, dated example—not a national estimate or a current measure of conditions. Among respondents to that study, 26% reported at least one instance of tip misappropriation, 30% reported at least one instance of non-payment by apps, and 16% reported account deactivation. Those are respondent-reported findings from that study and year.
The report also compared app-delivery work with employee work in New York City, including wages, paid safe and sick leave, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and employer payroll-tax contributions. Its calculations used 2021–2022 inputs and the legal context at the time; they should not be read as current New York City pay rates or as a description of every delivery worker’s circumstances.
What to do if you suspect misclassification or unpaid wages
- Write down the facts. Keep schedules, offer and delivery records, pay statements, tip records, expense receipts, account notices, and relevant communications. Record how the work is actually assigned and performed, not only what a contract calls it.
- Identify the legal question and location. A tax classification question, an unpaid-wage concern, and an injury claim may go to different agencies. Find the state and local rules that cover the place where you worked.
- For an unresolved federal tax-status question, consider Form SS-8. The IRS says either a worker or a business may submit the form to request a federal tax-status determination. The IRS says the process may take at least six months; the result addresses tax status, not every employment-rights question.
- For wages or overtime, contact the appropriate labor agency. The DOL Wage and Hour Division and the relevant state labor agency are official starting points. USAGov’s wage-laws guide also directs readers to information on minimum wage, overtime, and misclassification.
- For an injury, contact the state workers’ compensation officials. Preserve medical, work, and insurance records and check the rules for the state involved.
These steps are general information, not individualized legal or tax advice. The agency that can address a concern depends on the right involved and the applicable location.
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