Pre-paid reloadable debit cards are sometimes used by employers who say they save money over the standard paycheck methods. But State Rep. John Rogers of Mentor-on-the-Lake in Northeast Ohio says the fees for those cards add up quickly, especially for minimum-wage workers.
“To me it’s unfair," Rogers said. "You know, you’ve got working people in a difficult economy trying to make ends meet. And before they even get out of the workplace, they’re getting dinged on the very money that they’ve worked and earned.”
Rogers’ bill would require businesses with more than 500 employees to give those workers the option of being paid by reloadable debit cards or through direct deposit, check or cash. The bill comes after a lawsuit by a Pennsylvania fast-food worker who says she was told a debit card loaded with fees was the only way she could be paid.
Rogers’ bill in the Republican-dominated House has 11 co-sponsors, all Democrats.
