Amendment #162 to H4879

Electronic Wage Cards

Mr. Chan of Quincy moves to amend the bill by adding at the end thereof the following sections:-

“SECTION XX. Section 1 of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Mercantile establishments”, the following definition:-

"Payroll card account", a prepaid account that is directly or indirectly established through an employer to which transfers of the employee's wages, salary or other compensation are made, and which carries the consumer protections that apply to payroll card accounts under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act 15 U.S.C. § 1693 et seq., and Regulation E, 29 C.F.R. Part 1005, including the compulsory use provision, as may be amended.

SECTION XX. Section 148 of said chapter 149 is hereby amended, in line 107, by inserting after the word “reasonable” the following words:- Any employer paying wages by payroll card account shall provide the employee with the ability to make at least one withdrawal from the payroll card account in each pay period, but not more frequently than once per week, without charge for any amount up to and including the full amount of the employee's net wages for the pay period.  Any fees associated with usage of the card after the card’s initial transaction shall be disclosed in advance to the employee, except that the employer is not responsible for disclosing third party fees that are not within control of the employer. Employees who receive wages by credit to a payroll card account must be provided with a means of checking their payroll card account balances, either, through an automated telephone system, or online through the use of the Internet, without cost, irrespective of the number of inquiries made."

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #162 to H4879

Electronic Wage Cards