Judge approves nearly $25 million settlement for California Grubhub drivers

After ten years of litigation, U.S. District Judge Jaqueline Scott Corley signed off on a settlement that allocates nearly $25 million to an estimated 60,000 Grubhub delivery contractors in California. The class includes anyone who completed at least one delivery on the platform between December 2014 and March 2026. The case started when driver Raef Lawson alleged the company withheld minimum wages and expense reimbursements, later filing a claim under the state’s Private Attorneys General Act.

Lawson will receive a $10,000 service award as the lead plaintiff, while each class member is guaranteed a minimum payment of $25, with the final amount determined by total miles driven. The judge praised the claims administrator for low opt-out rates but cut the attorneys’ fee request from $8.25 million to $6.18 million, citing benchmark limits. Plaintiff counsel included Shannon Liss-Riordan, Thomas Fowler and Adrian Bacon; Grubhub was represented by Dhananjay Manthripragada, Theane Evangelis and Joseph Barakat of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.