Paychecks to go

Food delivery just got a price hike in New York City. Starting July 12, the city is requiring companies like Uber Eats and DoorDash to pay food delivery workers at least $17.96 per hour. Mayor Eric Adams announced the wage increase on June 11: Officials call it the first minimum wage for app-based food delivery workers in the nation.

Currently, New York City’s approximately 60,000 restaurant delivery workers earn an average of $14.18 (with tips) and $7.09 (without tips) per hour. The new wage will adjust for inflation each year and must increase to $19.96 by 2025.

The delivery companies can choose how to implement the wage hike. A study from the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection found that the cost will likely be passed on to consumers, who could see delivery fees increase by $5 or more per order.

The study estimated that local restaurants will be “mostly unaffected” by the change and may experience a modest increase in profits if consumers shift to purchasing from them directly. But Dave Goodside, owner of Beach Cafe, told the New York Post the policy will also drive up the cost of restaurant labor.

Cost of hacking

Cyber insurance premiums in the United States jumped 50 percent last year, reaching $7.2 billion, according to ratings firm AM Best. Increased ransomware cyberattacks, as well as increased online commerce, drove the rise in premiums. The growth of cyber insurance now far outpaces other forms of commercial insurance.

Cyber premiums have tripled in the last three years, in part because more people are working from home on personal computers vulnerable to cyberattacks. Criminals have also used artificial intelligence technology, cryptocurrency scams, and fake COVID-19 relief websites to hack data. Comparitech logged around 400 confirmed ransomware attacks on U.S. entities in 2022.

AM Best, which published its findings June 13, also found that consumers are turning to “surplus lines,” or specialty insurers that patch specific risks not covered by standard policies. Surplus lines insurers now account for most cyber insurance premiums. —E.R.

Gannett v. Google

The largest newspaper publisher in the United States, Gannett, is suing Google over the tech company’s alleged monopoly on digital advertising. Gannett, which publishes USA Today and more than 200 local papers, filed the suit in federal court in New York on June 20. Google controls about a quarter of the total U.S. digital ad market—but Gannett says Google controls up to 90 percent of the ad market for publishers. —E.R.