California Instacart workers to begin receiving restitution payments

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KSWB) — Did you work for Instacart in California between Sept. 13, 2015 and Dec. 15, 2020? If so, you may soon receive a restitution payment.

The money stems from a $46.5 million settlement from a lawsuit filed against the giant grocery delivery app back in 2019.

The suit was negotiated by San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliot, who argued that the multi-billion-dollar company failed to pay its shoppers and drivers what they were owed.

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The suit alleged that the San Francisco-based company misclassified its workers as independent contractors when they should have been considered employees.

Now, millions of dollars in Instacart funds are ready to be distributed. The attorney’s office announced last week that digital payments are expected to begin immediately.

Around 125,000 people are eligible for these restitution payments.

“We fought hard to ensure California’s Instacart workers are paid what they are owed, and we want to ensure they are on the lookout for the payments,” said Elliott. “They should receive checks as soon as this week.”

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The attorney’s office says payments will be sent from settlement administrator Simpluris. The size of payments will be based on the number of hours each person worked during the more than five years covered by the lawsuit.

For the most active workers, Elliott’s office says individual restitution payments could exceed $10,000.

Under the terms of the settlement, Instacart — an app-based company that offers same-day grocery delivery — admitted no wrongdoing.

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