Bill Text: IA SF141 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act permitting the voluntary receipt by employees of payment of wages by debit card or pay card and making penalties and remedies applicable.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-01-26 - Subcommittee: Schultz, Chapman, and Dotzler. S.J. 145. [SF141 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2017-SF141-Introduced.html
Senate File 141 - Introduced SENATE FILE BY DOTZLER, BOULTON, DVORSKY, TAYLOR, BOWMAN, KINNEY, HART, JOCHUM, LYKAM, QUIRMBACH, and McCOY A BILL FOR 1 An Act permitting the voluntary receipt by employees of payment 2 of wages by debit card or pay card and making penalties and 3 remedies applicable. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: TLSB 1405XS (4) 87 je/rj PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. Section 91A.3, subsection 3, Code 2017, is 1 2 amended to read as follows: 1 3 3. a. The wages paid under subsection 1 shall be paid using 1 4 a method authorized by this section. 1 5 b. Wages due may be paid at the employee's normal place of 1 6 employment during normal employment hours or at a place and 1 7 hour mutually agreed upon by the employer and employee, or the 1 8 employee may elect to have the wages sent for direct deposit, 1 9 on or by the regular payday of the employee, into a financial 1 10 institution designated by the employee. 1 11 c. Upon written request by the employee, wages due may be 1 12 sent to the employee by mail. The employer shall maintain a 1 13 copy of the request for as long as it is effective and for at 1 14 least two years thereafter. 1 15 d. The employee may elect to have wages due sent for 1 16 direct deposit, on or by the regular payday of the employee, 1 17 into a financial institution designated by the employee. An 1 18 employee hired on or after July 1, 2005, may be required, as 1 19 a condition of employment, to participate in direct deposit 1 20 of the employee's wages in a financial institution of the 1 21 employee's choice unless any of the following conditions exist: 1 22 (1) The costs to the employee of establishing and 1 23 maintaining an account for purposes of the direct deposit would 1 24 effectively reduce the employee's wages to a level below the 1 25 minimum wage provided under section 91D.1. 1 26 (2) The employee would incur fees charged to the employee's 1 27 account as a result of the direct deposit. 1 28 (3) The provisions of a collective bargaining agreement 1 29 mutually agreed upon by the employer and the employee 1 30 organization prohibit the employer from requiring an employee 1 31 to sign up for direct deposit as a condition of hire. 1 32 e. (1) An employer may offer payment of wages by debit 1 33 card or pay card pursuant to this section only if all of the 1 34 following requirements are met: 1 35 (a) The employee voluntarily agrees in writing to payment 2 1 by debit card or pay card after the employer offers to pay the 2 2 employee's wages by debit card or pay card and notifies the 2 3 employee in writing that receipt of payment by debit card or 2 4 pay card is voluntary on the employee's part and listing the 2 5 other method or methods of payment offered by the employer. 2 6 (b) The employee has the option of withdrawing all wages 2 7 due once per pay period, but not more frequently than once per 2 8 week, without incurring any charge, if such withdrawal of wages 2 9 is conducted at a financial institution's office location. For 2 10 purposes of this subparagraph division, "financial institution" 2 11 means the same as defined in section 537.1301. 2 12 (c) The employee has the option to have the employee's name 2 13 included on the debit card or pay card. 2 14 (2) The employer shall retain copies of the employee's 2 15 written consent and the notice of charges for the period for 2 16 which the consent is effective and for at least two years 2 17 thereafter. 2 18 (3) The employer shall substitute another payment method 2 19 in accordance with this section no later than two pay periods 2 20 after receiving a request from an employee for termination of 2 21 payment by debit card or pay card. 2 22b.f. If the employer fails to pay an employee's wages on 2 23 or by the regular payday in accordance with this subsection, 2 24 the employer is liable for the amount of any overdraft charge 2 25 if the overdraft is created on the employee's account because 2 26 of the employer's failure to pay the wages on or by the regular 2 27 payday. The overdraft charges may be the basis for a claim 2 28 under section 91A.10 and for damages under section 91A.8. 2 29 Sec. 2. Section 91A.6, subsection 4, Code 2017, is amended 2 30 to read as follows: 2 31 4. On each regular payday, the employer shall send to 2 32 each employee by mail or shall provide at the employee's 2 33 normal place of employment during normal employment hours a 2 34 statement showing the beginning and ending dates of the pay 2 35 period to which the statement applies, the hours the employee 3 1 worked, the wages earned by the employee, and deductions made 3 2 for the employee. However, the employer need not provide 3 3 information on hours worked for employees who are exempt 3 4 from overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, 3 5 as defined in 29 C.F.R. pt. 541, unless the employer has 3 6 established a policy or practice of paying to or on behalf 3 7 of exempt employees overtime, a bonus, or a payment based on 3 8 hours worked, whereupon the employer shall send or otherwise 3 9 provide a statement to the exempt employees showing the hours 3 10 the employee worked or the payments made to the employee 3 11 by the employer, as applicable. An employer who provides 3 12 each employee access to view an electronic statement of 3 13 the employee's earnings and provides the employee free and 3 14 unrestricted access to a printer to print the employee's 3 15 statement of earnings, if the employee chooses, is in 3 16 compliance with this subsection. 3 17 EXPLANATION 3 18 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 3 19 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly. 3 20 This bill permits an employer to offer payment of wages by 3 21 debit card or pay card under Code chapter 91A, the Iowa wage 3 22 payment collection law, if certain requirements are met. 3 23 The employee must voluntarily agree in writing to payment 3 24 by debit card or pay card after the employer offers to pay the 3 25 employee's wages by debit card or pay card and notifies the 3 26 employee in writing that receipt of payment by debit card or 3 27 pay card is voluntary on the employee's part and listing the 3 28 other method or methods of payment offered by the employer. 3 29 The employee must have the option of withdrawing all wages due 3 30 once per pay period, but not more frequently than once per 3 31 week, without incurring any charge, if such withdrawal of wages 3 32 is conducted at a financial institution's office location. The 3 33 employee must also have the option to have the employee's name 3 34 included on the debit card or pay card. 3 35 The bill requires an employer to retain copies of the 4 1 employee's written consent and the notice of charges for the 4 2 period for which the consent is effective and for at least two 4 3 years thereafter. 4 4 The bill requires an employer to substitute another payment 4 5 method in accordance with this Code section no later than two 4 6 pay periods after receiving a request from an employee for 4 7 termination of payment by debit card or pay card. 4 8 The bill provides that regular payday statements provided to 4 9 employees by employers must include the beginning and ending 4 10 dates of the pay period to which the statement applies. 4 11 Under Code chapter 91A, unpaid wages or expenses, along with 4 12 liquidated damages, court costs, and attorney fees, may be 4 13 recovered by the employee or the labor commissioner by civil 4 14 action. An employer who violates Code chapter 91A is also 4 15 subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500 per pay period 4 16 for each violation. LSB 1405XS (4) 87 je/rj
