Food delivery platforms: customer service.

Assembly Member Bauer-Kahan's food delivery platform legislation establishes new consumer protections and transparency requirements for services that connect customers with restaurants for food delivery. The bill prohibits platforms from using customer tips to offset delivery drivers' base pay and requires detailed payment breakdowns for all parties involved in transactions.

The legislation mandates that platforms provide customers access to human customer service representatives when automated systems cannot resolve their concerns. It also creates comprehensive refund protocols, requiring platforms to issue full refunds, including taxes and fees, for undelivered or incorrect orders. While platforms must return gratuities to customers in these cases, they cannot deduct those amounts from delivery drivers' earnings. For partial deliveries, the bill requires platforms to charge customers only for items received and prorate all associated fees accordingly.

Under the new requirements, platforms must furnish both customers and restaurants with itemized cost breakdowns for each transaction, including purchase prices, fees, commissions, and gratuities. Delivery personnel must receive detailed explanations of their compensation, including base pay, tips, and promotional bonuses. The bill maintains existing prohibitions on platforms charging higher prices than those posted by restaurants or retaining any portion of designated tips and gratuities.