Dashers today discovered that they have to agree to the new updated Doordash Independent Contractor Agreement if they want to dash.
What has changed on the updated Doordash Independent Contractor Agreement? Changes in the agreement appear to be geared towards strengthening their case in the use of independent contractors, making mass arbitration more difficult, and giving Doordash more flexibility in making future changes.
Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer. I'm sure some changes are more significant or less significant than I realize. My analysis is my best attempt to identify what the changes in language mean.
And hopefully put it in plain English. I'd love any feedback from anyone who speaks legaleze. Leave a comment or shoot me an email at Ron@Entrecourier.com
Why does Doordash require Dashers to agree to a new, updated Independent Contractor Agreement?
The common answer I'm seeing already is that it's about you waiving your rights to participate in class action lawsuits. That's not where the changes are. The parts related to that were already in the existing contract.
In fact, my understanding is that this agreement actually opens the door for you to opt out of that section. We'll get into that more later.
There were a number of language changes throughout the contract. Two major sections were added and one sub section was added.
This is I MUST remind you what I said earlier: I'm not a lawyer.
Having said that, I don't see anything that materially changes the Dasher's relationship with Doordash. I see a lot of things related to some of Doordash's legal challenges.
I have to give a shout out to Diffchecker, an online tool that lets you compare documents. When I started, I tried to read the two versions side by side. Great way to make yourself crazy. I found Diffchecker where I could copy and paste both versions onto the site, and it would display the differences.
Here's a summary of what I think they're trying to accomplish with their changes.
The new Independent Contractor Agreement with Doordash is trying to discourage mass arbitration.
From what I see, the common theory is that the change is meant to stop you from joining any class action suits.
The Doordash contract has prohibited that since I began delivering early in 2018. Doordash includes language that agrees to using binding arbitration, rather than lawsuits.
Some lawyers figured out a work around. They used mass arbitration, where they'd file hundreds, if not thousands, of arbitration appeals at one time.
The idea is to use Doordash's rules against them. Doordash won't allow people to sue, but they aren't equipped to handle respond to so many arbitration cases at once.
Under the Mutual Arbitration Provision (Section 11) Doordash added a subsection. It starts with “Contractor and Doordash mutually agree that good-faith informal efforts to resolve disputes often can result in a prompt, low-cost and mutually beneficial outcome. Contractor and Doordash therefore agree that, before either Contractor or Doordash demands arbitration against the other, we will personally meet and confer, via telephone or videoconference, in a good-faith effort to resolve informally any claim covered by this mutual Arbitration Agreement.”
My take on this provision.
Requiring individual meetings will prevent a lawyer from filing several claims at one time. They have to go through this process individually.
I have to think it's a stall technique as well. The end of that section is a line that says “the statute of limitations and any filing fee deadlines shall be tolled while the parties engage in the informal dispute resolution process required by this paragraph.”
Here's my non-lawyer interpretation: Different states have different requirements as to how soon you have to file for arbitration. They can take up to 60 days to set up this informal meeting but the clock on that statute of limitations doesn't pause during that time. It basically shortens the window of which you have to file by 2 months.
I do see one benefit to this for Dashers. This provision actually forces someone from Doordash to address your case individually. Someone has to meet with you by phone or videoconference.
When it's nearly impossible to get a personal response to anything with Doordash, that's maybe an improvement.
Does this open the door for opting out of arbitration?
Doordash has language that allows you to opt out of arbitration.
Normally you can only do so within 30 days of when you start. However, the language states that you can opt out within 30 days of the effective date of this agreement.
Remember what I said about not being a lawyer? The non lawyer in me reads that to mean that you have 30 days from when THIS agreement goes into effect. Not 30 days from when you start delivering.
Why would you opt out? It comes down to whether you want to resolve issues through the courts or through arbitration. Usually it's related to whether you would want to join any class action taken against Doordash.
This is that “not a lawyer” thing again – I'm not even going to try to tell you whether you should opt out or not.
Language changes in the new updated Doordash Independent Contractor Agreement seem to be geared towards protecting independent contractor status.
A lot of the small changes in the agreement appear to do with protecting the ability to use independent contractors.
It goes back to employment law. There are a lot of stipulations on state and federal levels as to when you can use contractors in place of employees. A common one is if you are using contractors to perform the work of your company.
The last line in the Stipulations (both the old and new version) has you agree that “Doordash is not a restaurant, food delivery service, or food preparation business.”
Wait, they're not a delivery service?
This is why they say that. If you hire people to deliver and you're a delivery service, you have a higher risk of being sued for misclassification. That's because you can't use contractors to do the primary work of your business.
That's why all these delivery companies say they're not delivery companies. Even though that's what everyone thinks they are and that's how everyone describes them. Instead, they claim to be a technology platform that connects drivers, restaurants, and customers.
Even though we all know they're still a delivery service.
Examples of language to look less like a delivery service.
Under contracted services, item 4 used to state “Contractor authorizes Doordash, during the course of a contracted service, to communicate with contractor , consumer and/or restaurant or other business to assist contractor.”
They changed that to say they added the phrase “or facilitate direct communication between contractor and the consumer, restaurant and/or business.”
It's a subtle change, but here's the thing: Under the old language, Doordash remained in control of communications. Under the new language, Doordash ‘facilitates' communications. One demonstrates more control over the process than the other.
Another even more subtle change is in section 10: Indemnity. They changed the language from saying that Doordash indemnifies contractors from Doordash's actions “arranging and offering” delivery services to now say “offering and facilitating” delivery services.
“Arranging and offering” sounds like Doordash is in control of the delivery process. “Offering and facilitating” sounds more like a tech company connecting people to facilitate a delivery.
Doordash added a section in the new updated independent contractor agreement to make it easier for them to make changes.
Doordash added an entirely new section to the agreement. It's section 15: Modifications.
Essentially it states that Doordash can make changes whenever they want. If they do so, they must notify the contractor of the agreement before making the change.
Right now you have to explicitly agree to the change. Going forward, all they have to do is notify you that they will change it. Continuing to use the app after the change is made signifies your agreement to the change.
Think about it. I'm guessing there's a good chance that if you are reading this, you were searching for what the changes are in the agreement.
You probably went to log in to deliver, but you can't do that without agreeing to the changes. That alone makes you wonder what the changes are.
Going forward all they have to do is send you something saying “Hey, we changed the terms.”
How many times do you ignore those emails from various apps and software products? I'm pretty sure that's what they're banking on.
Doordash added Section 12 in the new updated independent contractor agreement about proprietary rights and licenses.
This is a section that basically outlines that Doordash's intellectual property is Doordash's. Any use of the platform is supposed to be only for Doordash's purposes.
This is where the fact I'm not a lawyer raises its ugly head, because I don't know how significant this section is. So all I can do is speculate on some things.
I'm curious how much of this is targeted to third party apps or even use of older versions of the app.
How much does this point to the integration of Doordash's Dasher app with other third party apps?
One that comes to mind immediately is the Dash Utility app that is popular among a lot of drivers. That particular app interfaces with the Dasher app, pulls information from incoming delivery offers, and allows the Dasher to make decisions based on their calculations related to the offer.
We just had the developers of a new app called Para on the podcast and I wonder how this language would relate to any one who might link their Doordash account to a third party app like this.
One last possibility is where many Dashers encourage the use of an older version the the Dasher app. The reasoning is that you can see specifically what the customer tipped before taking an offer.
This is my “i'm not a lawyer” hat in action: I don't know if any of this language would prevent the use of these apps, or even if it requires the use of a newer version of the app.
The thing is, why put this in the contractor's agreement? The only answer I can think of is that they want to exert more control over how the app is used. Putting this in there gives them room to take action if the app is used improperly, as defined by Doordash.
The language also gives Doordash ownership of comments and suggestions from Dashers.
Section XII item 3 states: “any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, feedback or other information (“submissions”) provided by contractor to Doordash regarding the Doordash platform are provided freely and shal become the sole property of Doordash.”
Not only that, they become exclusive property of Doordash.
In other words, any feedback you offer becomes completely the property of Doordash and you give up ownership of that feedback.
I'm not sure this is any different than any other online platform where you submit information. And I'm not sure what this accomplishes by putting in the agreement, other than discouraging participation by Dashers in any issues related to the platform.
Other changes
There were numerous small language changes.
The most frequent ones were Doordash changing from gender related pronounds (he/she or his/her) to a plural pronoun (they or their).
There were some others that reflected changes in Doordash business. The older version of the restaurant is one you could tell was geared towards restaurant food delivery.
Now, references to restaurants are expanded to refer to other businesses. This reflects Doordash's expansion into other forms of delivery such as groceries and pharmacies.
There were a couple of changes that seem to be intended to give Doordash more wiggle room when it comes to deactivating drivers. One in particular was in section 13 (or section 14 in the new version). In the old version it referenced the Deactivation Policy. In the new version it adds “which contractor expressly agrees to.”
What to think of all these changes?
More than anything it seems like it's about Doordash trying to line the contractor agreement up with their narrative.
Doordash claims not to be a delivery company. However, language in their agreement hinted otherwise. They needed to clean that up.
Doordash is expanding their model. Perhaps now that they're a public entity, they have to be a bit more careful about the wording of some things.
And finally, Doordash has their hands full with legal issues related to deactivations and arbitration. They needed to clean things up there as well.
I'm sure there are single word changes that have far more significance than I could imagine. Very possibly things I think could be a big deal are really nothing. That all goes with the territory of not being a lawyer.
How should we respond to any of this?
This is me not being a lawyer. Again. But personally, I don't see any changes in how I approach things.
I view all these changes suspiciously. But then again, I view anything Doordash or any of these apps do with suspicion. I don't trust them. Never have, never will.
But that's okay. They're not my employer. Doordash is my customer.
You could say that Doordash is that customer that you kinda keep an eye on when they're in your store, just to make sure they're not shoplifting. But they're still my customer.
The fact that I don't trust my customer doesn't change the fact that I can still do business with them.
What are the specific changes?
Warning: The following is some pretty dry and boring stuff to read.
Not that the preceding was a lot better, but still, just a warning.
Below are the specific instances where the language in the contract has changed. I won't go into all the instances where they changed from “he/she” to “their” or similar to that.
Bold print will be applied to highlight the specific language that was changed.
Recitals, line 1:
Old contract: DOORDASH is a company that provides an online marketplace connection using web-based technology that connects contractors, restaurants and/or other businesses, and consumers (“DOORDASH platform” or “platform”).
New contract: DOORDASH is a company that provides an online marketplace platform using web-based technology that connects contractors, restaurants and/or other businesses, and consumers (“DOORDASH platform” or “platform”).
What's this about? Good question.
It's just a single word change. There's a section further down that was added related to use of the platform and to assert their rights to intellectual property. I don't know if this was done to unify the language?
Section II. Contractor's Operations Line 3
Old contract: DOORDASH does not have the right to restrict CONTRACTOR from performing services for other businesses, customers or consumers at any time, even if such business directly competes with DOORDASH, and even during the time CONTRACTOR is logged into the DOORDASH platform.
New contract: DOORDASH does not have the right to restrict CONTRACTOR from performing services for CONTRACTOR’s own business, other businesses, customers, or consumers at any time, even if such business directly competes with DOORDASH, and even during the time CONTRACTOR is logged into the DOORDASH platform.
What's this about? The new language simply added the part about Contractor's own business. This appears to be language that firms up the narrative that contractors are operating completely independently.
I have to think this was inspired by the C test of the ABC test used in some states. The C test basically states that the work a contractor does has to be work that's normally work an independent business owner would perform.
If you add language that refers to the ability to have your own customers, that supports the fact that you pass that particular test as to if you can use independent contractors.
Section III. Contracted Services, Line 1.
Old Contract. From time to time, the DOORDASH platform will notify CONTRACTOR of the opportunity to complete deliveries from restaurants or other businesses to consumers in accordance with orders placed by consumers through the DOORDASH platform (each of these is referred to as a “Delivery Opportunity”).
New Contract. From time to time, the DOORDASH platform will notify CONTRACTOR of the opportunity to complete deliveries from restaurants or other businesses to consumers in accordance with orders placed by consumers through the DOORDASH platform or directly from restaurants or other businesses (each of these is referred to as a “Delivery Opportunity”).
What's this about? Doordash has been diversifying the options available for their delivery partners. Not all deliveries we perform are placed through the Doordash app. This just reflects the adaptations in their business practices.
Section III. Contracted Services Line 4.
Old Contract: CONTRACTOR authorizes DOORDASH, during the course of a Contracted Service, to communicate with CONTRACTOR, consumer, and/or restaurant or other business to assist CONTRACTOR, to the extent permitted by CONTRACTOR, in facilitating deliveries
New Contract: CONTRACTOR authorizes DOORDASH, during the course of a Contracted Service, to communicate with CONTRACTOR, consumer, and/or restaurant or other business to assist CONTRACTOR, or facilitate direct communication between CONTRACTOR and the consumer, restaurant, and/or business, to the extent permitted by CONTRACTOR, in facilitating deliveries.
What's this about? I mentioned this above, but more than anything it's to demonstrate that Doordash is not controlling the process. If Doordash is controlling the communications, that's evidence of an employee relationship. Instead, they add language to include “facilitate direct communication.”
Section V. Payment for Services Line 4:
Old contract: Notwithstanding the terms of Section V(1) – (3), fulfillment orders placed directly with merchants rather than through the App or doordash.com (“Fulfillment Orders”) may be subject to a different payment model.
New contract: Notwithstanding the terms of Section V(1) – (3), fulfillment orders placed directly with restaurants or other businesses rather than through the App or doordash.com (“Fulfillment Orders”) may be subject to a different payment model.
What's this about? I'm not sure. I'm not sure if there's something more to this than I think, but maybe changing “merchants” to “restaurants or other businesses” is just to make things consistent with other references to restaurants and other businesses.
Section VII Personnel – specifically about using subcontractors:
Old Contract, Line 1: …but may, to the extent permitted by law and subject to the terms of this Agreement, hire or engage others (as employees or subcontractors of CONTRACTOR) to perform all or some of the Contracted Services, provided any such employees or subcontractors meet all the requirements applicable to CONTRACTOR including, but not limited to, the background check requirements that CONTRACTOR must meet in order to perform Contracted Services
New Contract, Line 1: …but may, to the extent permitted by law and subject to the terms of this Agreement, hire or engage others (as employees or subcontractors of CONTRACTOR) to perform all or some of the Contracted Services, provided any such employees or subcontractors meet all the requirements applicable to CONTRACTOR including, but not limited to, accepting the terms of this Agreement, separately completing the process to receive Delivery Opportunities, and being eligible to provide the Contracted Services in the geographic location.
Old Contract, Line 5: A copy of such written agreement must be provided to DOORDASH at least 7 days in advance of such Personnel performing the Contracted Services
New Contract, Line 5: A copy of such written agreement must be provided to DOORDASH at least 7 days in advance of such Personnel performing the Contracted Services, and CONTRACTOR must notify DOORDASH when their Personnel will be performing Contracted Services
What are these changes about subcontractors about?
Here's my take:
Doordash got themselves in a pickle here.
This is all about that employee/contractor/misclassification thing. Doordash put language in allowing the use of subcontractors.
Think about it: They're contracting with you as though you are a business. It makes sense that as a business, you can hire employees or contractors. That's the way it should be.
The problem is, there are all sorts of issues now that Doordash can't control. And that creates problems with the deliveries.
So they've updated the agreement that now subcontractors need to do their own application with Doordash. And now you have to also let Doordash know WHEN your contractors are delivering.
Basically what they've done is put the kibosh on you using subcontractors. Why would anyone subcontract under you if they are now signed on as Dashers themselves under their own account?
It meets Doordash's needs of ensuring safety, but this is something that leaves them a bit vulnerable in the employee/contractor classification area.
Section X Indemnity, line 1
Old contract: DOORDASH agrees to indemnify, protect and hold harmless CONTRACTOR from any and all claims, demands, damages, suits, losses, liabilities and causes of action arising directly from DOORDASH's actions arranging and offering the Contracted Services to CONTRACTOR.
New contract: DOORDASH agrees to indemnify, protect and hold harmless CONTRACTOR from any and all claims, demands, damages, suits, losses, liabilities and causes of action arising directly from DOORDASH's actions offering and facilitating the Contracted Services to CONTRACTOR.
What's this about? We mentioned this one above. If Doordash is arranging and offering the services, that makes them look in control. It means they're a delivery company. Offering and facilitating sounds more like a middleman.
Section XI Arbitration
It's probably no surprise that tehre's a lot in this section. There's one big sub-point that was added here and a number of little changes.
There were originally 18 lines in the arbitration section. Doordash added a whole new line as line 2. In the examples that I list below, we're going to use the line number from the new contract but compare the applicable language from the old contract.
Line 1
Old Contract CONTRACTOR’s classification as an independent contractor, CONTRACTOR’s provision of Contracted Services to consumers, the payments received by CONTRACTOR for providing services to consumers, the termination of this Agreement, and all other aspects of CONTRACTOR's relationship with DOORDASH
New Contract: CONTRACTOR’s classification as an independent contractor, CONTRACTOR’s provision of Contracted Services to consumers, restaurants, or other businesses, the payments received by CONTRACTOR for providing services to consumers, restaurants, or other businesses, the termination of this Agreement, and all other aspects of CONTRACTOR's relationship with DOORDASH
What's this about? I think this has to do with Doordash's evolution in the delivery services they offer. In the past it was about consumers ordering services. However, sometimes now the merchant may be the one ordering deliveries and possibly they are the ones paying for it.
Line 2.
This was the biggie. How it looks to me, this was the one that made it worthwhile for Doordash to go through the headaches of putting out a new independent contractor agreement. Line 2 here is brand new, there is no similar section in the old contract.
Old Contract:
New Contract: CONTRACTOR and DOORDASH agree that good-faith informal efforts to resolve disputes often can result in a prompt, low-cost and mutually beneficial outcome. CONTRACTOR and DOORDASH therefore agree that, before either CONTRACTOR or DOORDASH demands arbitration against the other, we will personally meet and confer, via telephone or videoconference, in a good-faith effort to resolve informally any claim covered by this mutual Arbitration Agreement. If CONTRACTOR is represented by counsel, CONTRACTOR’s counsel may participate in the conference, but CONTRACTOR shall also fully participate in the conference. The party initiating the claim must give notice to the other party in writing of their intent to initiate an informal dispute resolution conference, which shall occur within 60 days after the other party receives such notice, unless an extension is mutually agreed upon by the parties. To notify DOORDASH that CONTRACTOR intends to initiate an informal dispute resolution conference, email Dasher.Informal.Resolution@doordash.com, providing CONTRACTOR’s name, the telephone number associated with CONTRACTOR’s Dasher account (if any), the email address associated with CONTRACTOR’s Dasher account, and a description of CONTRACTOR’s claim. In the interval between the party receiving such notice and the informal dispute resolution conference, the parties shall be free to attempt to resolve the initiating party’s claims. Engaging in an informal dispute resolution conference is a requirement that must be fulfilled before commencing arbitration. The statute of limitations and any filing fee deadlines shall be tolled while the parties engage in the informal dispute resolution process required by this paragraph.
What's this about? I'm pretty sure this is about Doordash heading off mass arbitration filings. This provision says you can't file for arbitration unless you have had an in person visit (by phone or videoconference) and tried to resolve the issue informally.
Lawyers can't just file hundreds or thousands of simultaneous arbitration cases now. Each person has to take this step first before that happens.
Line 3:
Old Contract: If either CONTRACTOR or DOORDASH wishes to initiate arbitration, the initiating party must notify the other party in writing via certified mail, return receipt requested, or hand delivery within the applicable statute of limitations period.
New Contract: If, following the informal resolution process, either CONTRACTOR or DOORDASH wishes to initiate arbitration, the initiating party must notify the other party in writing via certified mail, return receipt requested, or hand delivery within the applicable statute of limitations period.
What's this about? This is just an extension of the addition of line 2 in the new contract. Line two said you have to go through the informal resolution process, and the beginning of line 3 now reinforces that.
Line 17 (16 in old contract)
Old Contract: The CPR Rules may be found at www.cpradr.org or by searching for “CPR Administered Arbitration Rules” and “CPR Employment-Related Mass-Claims Protocol” using a service such as www.google.com or www.bing.com or by asking DOORDASH’s General Counsel to provide a copy.
New Contract: The CPR Rules may be found at www.cpradr.org or by searching for “CPR Administered Arbitration Rules” and “CPR Employment-Related Mass-Claims Protocol” using a service such as www.google.com or www.bing.com or by asking DOORDASH’s General Counsel to provide a copy (by submitting a written request to General Counsel, 303 2nd Street, Suite 800, San Francisco, CA, 94107).
What's this about? This is just adding specifics about where you can contact the general counsel office for Doordash. I'm not sure but I wonder if the reason they updated this had to do with issues raised in some of the mass arbitration litigation. One of the arguments against Doordash had to do with unclear information as to where to contact the right people.
Line 18
Old Contract: No CONTRACTOR (or his or her agent or representative) may effectuate an opt out on behalf of other CONTRACTORS.
New Contract: No CONTRACTOR (or their agent or representative) may effectuate an opt out on behalf of other CONTRACTORS. If, at the time of CONTRACTOR’s receipt of this Agreement, CONTRACTOR was bound by an existing arbitration agreement with DOORDASH, that arbitration agreement will continue to apply to any pending litigation, even if CONTRACTOR opts out of this Arbitration Agreement.
What's this about? Because this is a new agreement, it opens the door to long term or existing Dashers to opt out of the arbitration provision. The added language specifies that if you do opt out, you can only do so for this point going forward.
In other words, if there is a class action suit already in place, you cannot opt out to join that suit. They are stating that you are still bound by the arbitration clause from prior to this agreement.
Line 19 (18 in the old contract)
Old contract: This Mutual Arbitration Provision is the full and complete agreement relating to the formal resolution of disputes covered by this Mutual Arbitration Provision.
New contract: Except as specified in the prior paragraph, this Mutual Arbitration Provision supersedes any and all prior arbitration agreements between CONTRACTOR and DOORDASH and is the full and complete agreement relating to the formal resolution of disputes covered by this Mutual Arbitration Provision.
What's this about? This is basically an extension of what was in Line 18. It reinforces the idea that you can only opt out of arbitration for any issues going forward.
Section XIII Proprietary rights and licenses
This is a completely new section. We discussed this above.
Old contract:
New contract:
- All copyright, database rights, trademarks (whether registered or unregistered), design rights (whether registered or unregistered), patent applications, patents, and other intellectual property rights of any nature in the DOORDASH platform together with the underlying software code and any and all rights in, or derived from the DOORDASH platform are proprietary and owned either directly by DOORDASH or by DOORDASH’s licensors and are protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws. CONTRACTOR agrees that they will not use such proprietary information, materials, or intellectual property rights in any way whatsoever except for by use of the DOORDASH platform to perform the Contracted Service in compliance with the terms of this Agreement. No portion of the DOORDASH platform may be reproduced in any form or by any means, except as expressly permitted in the terms of this Agreement. CONTRACTOR agrees not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute, or create derivative works based on the DOORDASH platform or any intellectual property rights therein in any manner, and CONTRACTOR shall not exploit the DOORDASH platform or any intellectual property rights therein in any unauthorized way whatsoever.
- DOORDASH hereby grants CONTRACTOR a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to use the DOORDASH platform solely for their lawful use to perform the Contracted Services in accordance with these terms of this Agreement. DOORDASH retains all rights, title, and interest in and to the DOORDASH platform and its other intellectual property rights therein. Any such license shall terminate upon termination of this Agreement.
- CONTRACTOR acknowledges and agrees that any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, feedback or other information (“Submissions”) provided by CONTRACTOR to DOORDASH regarding the DOORDASH platform are provided freely and shall become the sole property of DOORDASH. DOORDASH shall own exclusive rights of such Submissions, including all intellectual property rights therein, and shall be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of these Submissions for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment or compensation to CONTRACTOR.
What's this all about? I wrote a lot more about this above. Overall, it looks like this is mostly about Doordash asserting their rights to their own property. In some regards it looks like a way of clamping down on some of the behavior of Dashers maybe trying to do an end around some things on the app itself.
All that said, I'm not totally sure all the repercussions on this one.
Section XIV Termination of Agreement (XIII under old contract) Line 1.
Old contract: DOORDASH may terminate this Agreement and deactivate CONTRACTOR’S Dasher account only for the reasons set forth in the DOORDASH Deactivation Policy, or for a material breach of this Agreement
New contract: DOORDASH may terminate this Agreement and deactivate CONTRACTOR’S Dasher account only for the reasons set forth in the DOORDASH Deactivation Policy, which CONTRACTOR expressly agrees to, or for a material breach of this Agreement.
What's this about? I have to think this is a bit of CYA by Doordash. They've had their deactivation policy for awhile, although I'm not sure anyone's ever had to expressly agree to the policy. This seems to be added weight to add more weight to the deactivation policy.
I have to throw this in (on an already LONG article) – I find it interesting that they take this step when they've violated their own policy regarding the deactivation policy. I commented before that Doordash updated their policy sometime between September 2019 and May 2020 without notifying Dashers of that policy change. At least I never received such notification.
Section XV Modification
This too is a brand new section.
Old Contract:
New Contract: DOORDASH may modify this Agreement at any time. When DOORDASH makes material changes to this Agreement, it will post the revised Agreement on the DOORDASH Platform and update the “Last Updated” date at the top of the Agreement. DOORDASH will also provide CONTRACTOR with notice of any material changes before the date the revised Agreement becomes effective. If CONTRACTOR disagrees with the revised Agreement, CONTRACTOR may terminate the Agreement immediately as provided herein. If CONTRACTOR does not terminate the Agreement before the date the revised Agreement becomes effective, CONTRACTOR’s continued access to or use of the DOORDASH platform will constitute acceptance of the revised Agreement. DOORDASH may modify information on any website hyperlinked from this Agreement from time to time, and such modifications shall be effective upon posting. Continued use of the DOORDASH platform after any such changes shall constitute CONTRACTOR’s consent to such changes.
What's this about? It appears to me that this is about making it easier to make changes in the future.
Right now you have to expressly agree to any new changes. We have to agree to this new contract in order to continue deliveries. With this section, it's saying that all they have to do is post the new agreement and simply notify contractors that it's been posted.
They were supposed to do that with their deactivation policy as I mentioned above. See my comments earlier about not trusting Doordash. It's easier for them to slip changes in if all they do is send a notice of new terms, and they just let you know that by continuing to dash, you agree to those terms.
