PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — As Washington enters a 4-week period where most businesses must close their indoor services, Gov. Jay Inslee announced a cap on fees charged to restaurants by food delivery services.
Inslee’s proclamation, which takes effect on November 25 (the day before Thanksgiving), caps delivery fees at 15% and total fees at 18% of the price of the order. The fee caps affect delivery services such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, GrubHub, Postmates and others.
In a statement, Inslee said, “We recognize the challenges posed by COVID-19 to our restaurant community, and we’re grateful to third party delivery platforms that have made it possible for Washingtonians to continue supporting local restaurants, and allowed many businesses to stay open.”
But he said everyone “must sacrifice during these uniquely challenging times.”
The 4-week freeze in Washington orders retail stores —including grocery stores — to limit their indoor capacity to 25%. Additionally, indoor social gatherings with people from more than one household are also prohibited unless attendees have either quarantined for 14 days before the gathering or tested negative for COVID-19 and have quarantined for 7 days.
The fee cap in Washington is similar to a cap the Portland City Council imposed in July. The ordinance caps third-party delivery fees at 10%.
The Portland ordinance also caps the platforms that work only off customer pickups to 5%. Dozens of local restaurants and business groups asked the city to make the change because sometimes high delivery charges were eating into their profits.
