You are here: / / COURIER FOR A WEB BASED DELIVERY SERVICE NOT AN EMPLOYEE (THIRD DEPT).

COURIER FOR A WEB BASED DELIVERY SERVICE NOT AN EMPLOYEE (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, over a two-justice dissent, determined that a courier for a web based delivery service (Postmate) was not an employee entitled to unemployment insurance benefits:

… [I]n order to work as a courier or delivery professional for Postmates, claimant and others similarly situated need only download Postmates’ application software platform and provide his or her name, telephone number, Social Security number and driver’s license number; there is no application and no interview. Although Postmates thereafter obtains a criminal background check from a third-party provider and provides an orientation session on how to utilize the application software platform, significantly, claimant and those similarly situated are not thereafter required to report to any supervisor, and they unilaterally retain the unfettered discretion as to whether to ever log on to Postmates’ platform and actually work. When a courier does elect to log on to the platform, indicating his or her availability for deliveries, he or she is free to work as much or little as he or she wants — there is no set work schedule, there is no minimum time requirement that a courier must remain logged on to the platform and there is no minimum or maximum requirement with respect to the number of deliveries a courier must perform. In fact, once logged on to the platform, a courier may decline to do anything. When a customer requests a delivery using Postmates’ platform, the platform identifies the closest available courier(s) and sends basic information about the delivery request. Couriers, however, may accept, reject or ignore a delivery request, without penalty. Moreover, while logged on to Postmates’ platform, couriers maintain the freedom to simultaneously work for other companies, including Postmates’ direct competitors. Further, they are free to choose the mode of transportation they wish to use for deliveries, they provide and maintain their own transportation, they choose the route they wish to take for the delivery, they are not required to adhere to a stringent delivery schedule, they are not required to wear a uniform, they are not provided any identification card or logo, they are only paid for the deliveries they complete and they are not reimbursed for any of their delivery-related expenses. Matter of Vega (Commissioner of Labor), 2018 NY Slip Op 04610, Third Dept 6-21-18

​UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE (COURIER FOR A WEB BASED DELIVERY SERVICE NOT AN EMPLOYEE (THIRD DEPT))/COURIERS (UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, COURIER FOR A WEB BASED DELIVERY SERVICE NOT AN EMPLOYEE (THIRD DEPT))/DELIVERY SERVICE (UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, COURIER FOR A WEB BASED DELIVERY SERVICE NOT AN EMPLOYEE (THIRD DEPT))

You might also like
ALTHOUGH COUNTY COURT ISSUED, ENTERED AND FILED A DECISION ADJUDICATING DEFENDANT A LEVEL THREE SEX OFFENDER, THERE WAS NO LANGUAGE INDICATING THE DECISION WAS A JUDGMENT OR AN ORDER; IN ADDITION, THE RISK ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT DID NOT INCLUDE “SO ORDERED” LANGUAGE; THEREFORE THERE WAS NO APPEALABLE ORDER BEFORE THE COURT AND THE APPEAL WAS DISMISSED (THIRD DEPT).
THE DENIAL OF DEFENDANT’S REQUEST FOR A CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE JURY INSTRUCTION REQUIRED REVERSAL (THIRD DEPT).
Department of Environmental Conservation’s Finding that the Owners of Land on Either Side of a Creek Also Owned a Dam Across the Creek, and Therefore Were Responsible for Making the Dam Safe, Was Not Supported by Substantial Evidence—Dam Had Been Conveyed to the City in Condemnation Proceeding
THE TIME PERIOD FOR LEARNING THE IDENTITY OF DEFENDANTS DOES NOT BEGIN TO RUN WHEN A PLAINTIFF RETAINS COUNSEL, HERE THE ACTION WAS COMMENCED WHEN COUNSEL WAS RETAINED THREE DAYS BEFORE THE EXPIRATION OF THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS, THE COMPLAINT NAMED DEFENDANTS AS ‘JOHN DOES’ WHO WERE NOT IDENTIFIED UNTIL AFTER THE STATUTE HAD RUN, THE ACTION WAS DEEMED TIME-BARRED (THIRD DEPT).
MOTION TO VACATE THE CONVICTION, ALLEGING DEFENSE COUNSEL’S FAILURE TO INVESTIGATE, SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DENIED WITHOUT A HEARING 3RD DEPT.
People Did Not Meet Their Burden of Demonstrating Developmentally Disabled Respondent, Who Had Been In the Care and Custody of the OPWDD Since His Acquittal of a Criminal Charge By Reason of Mental Disease or Defect, Was “Mentally Ill”—Respondent’s Release Was Appropriate
PLAINTIFF WAS WORKING ON POWER LINES WHILE SUSPENDED FROM A HELICOPTER WHEN THE HELICOPTER LOST CONTROL AND CRASHED; PLAINTIFF’S LABOR LAW 200, 240 AND 241(6) CAUSES OF ACTION WERE NOT PREEMPTED BY THE FEDERAL AVIATION ACT (FAA) (THIRD DEPT).
POSSESSION OF SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS IS PUNISHABLE BY A FINE AND JAIL TIME UNDER THE SANITARY CODE; THEREFORE A SEARCH WARRANT AUTHORIZING A SEARCH FOR SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS IS VALID; THE WAIVER OF APPEAL HERE WAS INVALID (THIRD DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

IN DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE THE APPLICANT’S EQUITY... PETITIONER WAS ENTITLED TO A VARIANCE ON FINANCIAL HARDSHIP GROUNDS, REGULATORY...