Practices · Hidden
Tip used to offset base pay
A delivery or gig platform used the customer's tip to fill a guaranteed payout instead of adding it on top.
Between 2017 and 2019 DoorDash counted customer tips toward a guaranteed minimum per delivery while checkout said the driver received the full tip. State attorneys general in the District of Columbia, Illinois, and New York settled with the company. The Federal Trade Commission ordered Amazon to repay Flex drivers for the same pattern.
This record documents those official actions and any current worker reports, separately.
Spot it on your receipt
- Drivers: compare the tip shown to the customer with the tip line on your payout.
- Customers: screenshot the tip you left and the delivery confirmation.
On the record
Locations with a published claim that fits
Ordered by the number of independent reports behind the claim.
Law
The federal baseline
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, tips are the property of the employee. An employer, including managers and supervisors, may not keep any portion of employees' tips for any purpose, whether or not it takes a tip credit.
Source: 29 U.S.C. §203(m)(2)(B); DOL Fact Sheet #15 · Verified 2026-09
No federal law requires or forbids a tip prompt at checkout. If money collected as a "tip" is retained by the business rather than paid to workers, the federal tip-ownership rule and federal and state deceptive-practice laws may apply.
Source: FTC Act §5; FTC v. Amazon (Amazon Flex), 2021 · Verified 2026-09