SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, Calif. — The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a temporary cap on how much third-party food delivery companies can charge restaurants amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Restaurants can be charged as high as 30% on orders delivered by companies such as Doordash or Grubhub, according to CNBC reporting. These companies are now prohibited from charging more than 15% of the delivery order throughout San Joaquin County until the Board of Supervisors either repeals or modifies the new law.
The new law is needed because local restaurants have had to reduce their seating capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the most restrictive tiers of the stay-at-home orders, restaurants were forced to only offer outside dining, according to the agenda item. This forced restaurants to resort to delivery and take-out only. Many had to rely on third-party food delivery companies to fulfill orders.
Companies that violate this new law would have 10 business days to refund fees back to restaurants. If they do not repay the illegal fees, they could be on the hook for three times the amount restaurants were charged.
To read the ordinance in full, click here.
