Of the total settlement, $4 million is earmarked for workers who were deterred from applying or who did apply to the blocked roles, and $1 million is a civil penalty. The investigation followed reports from an organization called Jobs Now, which flagged what it termed as hidden jobs in California in April 2025. Instacart previously threatened to sue that group for promoting the listings before they were taken down.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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Instacart Pays $5 Million to Settle DOJ Worker Discrimination Case
Business8 hours ago
Applications for permanent labor certification at the food delivery service Instacart were restricted to mail submissions from December 2023 through February 2026, while other roles were posted online. The Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found this process intentionally favored workers with temporary visas over American citizens. Instacart has agreed to pay $5 million to resolve the civil rights case, which alleged the company discriminated against domestic candidates based on citizenship and national origin.
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