Getir Under Investigation in New York

Fast delivery startup Getir faces New York state investigation. The reason for this is the problems that occur in the payments of their employees. Getir laid off 14% of the global workforce, or about 4,480 people, in May. Getir cited "rising inflation and the worsening macroeconomic outlook around the world" as the reason.

The New York State Department of Labor confirmed earlier this week that Getir is investigating employment practices. Richard Gonzalez, a professor at the Chicago-Kent School of Law, said: “Although there is no evidence that Getir currently does this, it is a violation of state law in Illinois for employers to retaliate against workers for asking workers about their wages.”

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LeRoy, If Complaints Are Detected, We May Take Collective Legal Action

Michael LeRoy, a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Labor and Employment Relations and the School of Law, said in a statement. “Under Illinois wage and hour law, companies must record employee hours worked and clearly disclose any wage deductions.”

If they find that enough workers have similar complaints against an employer, they can take collective legal action, LeRoy said.

Last week, three workers in federal court in Brooklyn told Getir that they were required to work during meal breaks. They also filed a lawsuit, saying they were solidifying their overtime pay. They were all previously packing workers at Getir's New York City grocery stores. And they were making about $15 an hour. They claimed that they had to constantly work outside their schedule and were not paid for it. It was the fact that they got their hourly wages below the $15 minimum that should be in New York City.

Workers also claimed that Getir did not provide them with wage statements or properly record their working hours. Their cases brought claims under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which governs overtime and minimum wage practices, as well as New York law. They also tried to represent other groups of workers who had worked at Getir in recent years.

“There has been no complaint against Getir and therefore has not had the opportunity to review the claim,” a Getir spokesperson told Insider in an emailed statement. “We work to ensure that all our employees are properly paid in accordance with federal and state wage and hour laws,” he said.

Insider previously reported that Getir plans to open stores in new cities like Miami and Milwaukee in 2022. However, these plans are allegedly put on hold for the time being.