Food delivery platforms.

Existing law imposes various business practice restrictions on a food delivery platform, defined as an online business that acts as an intermediary between consumers and multiple food facilities to submit food orders from a consumer to a participating food facility, and to arrange for the delivery of the order from the food facility to the consumer. This bill would expand the definition of a food delivery platform to cover the completion of those deliveries and to include beverage orders, as provided. Existing law prohibits a food delivery platform from arranging for the delivery of an order from a food facility without first obtaining an agreement with the food facility expressly authorizing the food delivery platform to take orders and deliver meals prepared by the food facility. This bill would require a food delivery platform to provide to a food facility a mechanism to, among other things, remove the food facility, as specified, from the platform within 3 business days of receiving a request to be removed from the platform. The bill would require a food delivery platform to inform a food facility, before signing an agreement, of the fees charged by the food delivery platform for each service plan offered and the features included in each service plan, as applicable. Among other changes, the bill would also require a food delivery platform to inform a food facility of any change to the agreement deemed material and applicable to the food facility. Existing law prohibits a food delivery platform from charging a customer a purchase price for food or beverage that is higher than the price posted on the food delivery platform's internet website by the food facility at the time of the order. Existing law requires a food delivery platform to disclose to the customer and to the food facility a cost breakdown of each transaction, as described. Existing law requires the cost breakdown to include, among other information, the purchase price of the food and beverage and any tip or gratuity. Existing law defines "purchase price" as the price, as listed on the menu, for items contained in an online order and excludes from this definition the taxes or gratuities that make up the total amount charged to the customer of an online order. This bill would also exclude from the definition of "purchase price" fees and commissions that may make up the total amount charged to the customer of an online order. The bill would revise the above-described requirement to disclose the cost breakdown by, among other things, limiting the tip or gratuity disclosure requirement to those tips or gratuities that are payable to the delivery driver or food facility. The bill would require a food delivery platform to disclose clearly and regularly to the food facility and the customer the status of the order, as specified.