Bill Text: NY S05208 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Clarifies methods for the payment of wages and authorizes the payment of wages by use of payroll cards.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO LABOR [S05208 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S05208-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         5208--A
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                     March 16, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. GALLIVAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be  committed  to  the  Committee  on  Labor  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to clarifying methods for the
          payment  of  wages  and  authorizing  the  payment  of wages by use of
          payroll cards
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  The  section  heading of section 192 of the labor law, as
     2  amended by chapter 301 of the laws  of  1974,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    [Cash payment] Payment of wages.
     5    §  2. Subdivision 1 of section 192 of the labor law, as added by chap-
     6  ter 475 of the laws of 1981 and as renumbered by chapter 170 of the laws
     7  of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
     8    1. [No employer shall without  the  advance  written  consent  of  any
     9  employee directly pay or deposit the net wage or salary of such employee
    10  in a bank or other financial institution.] Wages shall be paid using one
    11  or more of the following methods:
    12    a. in lawful money of the United States;
    13    b.  by  check payable at face value upon demand in lawful money of the
    14  United States;
    15    c. by electronic automated fund transfer in lawful money of the United
    16  States into an account in the name of the employee at a financial insti-
    17  tution designated by the employee; provided that the employee  voluntar-
    18  ily  gives written or electronic authorization in advance to receive his
    19  or her wages in this manner; or
    20    d. by credit to a payroll card account in accordance with section  one
    21  hundred  ninety-two-a of this article, provided that the employee volun-
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10400-06-7
        S. 5208--A                          2
     1  tarily gives written or electronic authorization in advance  to  receive
     2  his or her wages in this manner.
     3    § 3. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 192-a to read as
     4  follows:
     5    §  192-a.  Payment  of  wages  using payroll cards. 1. As used in this
     6  section:
     7    a. "payroll card" means a prepaid card used by an employee  to  access
     8  wages from a payroll card account;
     9    b.  "payroll card account" means a prepaid account that is directly or
    10  indirectly established through an employer and to which transfers of the
    11  employee's wages, salary or other compensation are made; and
    12    c. "payroll card issuer" means a financial institution or other entity
    13  that issues a payroll card to employees on behalf of their employer.
    14    2. Consent to receive wages by credit to a payroll card account  shall
    15  not be made a condition of hire or a condition of continued employment.
    16    3.  A  payroll card program offered by an employer shall be associated
    17  with a network of automated teller machines that assures the availabili-
    18  ty of a substantial number of in-network ATMs in the state.
    19    4. If an employer pays wages to employees by credit to a payroll card:
    20    a. Except as provided in paragraph b of  this  subdivision,  employees
    21  must  be  able  to  make  at  least  one withdrawal or transfer from the
    22  payroll card account in each pay period without charge for any amount up
    23  to and including the full amount of the employee's  net  wages  for  the
    24  period and one withdrawal at an in-network ATM each week without charge.
    25    b.  If  wages  are paid more frequently than weekly, employees must be
    26  able to make at least one  withdrawal  or  transfer  each  week  without
    27  charge for any amount up to and including the full amount of the employ-
    28  ee's  net  wages  for  that week and one withdrawal at an in-network ATM
    29  each week without charge.
    30    5. Employers who use payroll cards to deliver wages or  other  compen-
    31  sation to their employees must also provide employees with the option of
    32  receiving their wages or other compensation by check and electronic fund
    33  transfer  in  accordance  with  section one hundred ninety-one-c of this
    34  article.
    35    6. An employee who receives wages by credit to a payroll card must  be
    36  provided with the following:
    37    a.  A  means  of checking the employee's payroll card account balances
    38  through an automated telephone  system  and  one  additional  electronic
    39  means, without cost irrespective of number of inquiries made.
    40    b.  Access  to  an  electronic  transaction  history that includes all
    41  deposits, withdrawals, deductions, or charges by any entity from  or  to
    42  the  employee's  payroll  card  account  at no cost to the employee. The
    43  employee shall be provided one written transaction history a month at no
    44  cost upon request by the employee.
    45    c. At the employee's request, one replacement card  per  year  without
    46  cost,  except that a fee may be charged for the cost of expedited deliv-
    47  ery of a replacement payroll card if the employee requests  such  deliv-
    48  ery.
    49    7.  When  offering an employee the option of receiving wages by credit
    50  to a payroll card account, an employer must provide  the  employee  with
    51  notice of the following items in paper or printable form. Notice must be
    52  provided  in  the  languages  the  employer normally uses to communicate
    53  employment-related policies to their employees.
    54    a. a listing of all methods of wage payment offered by the employer in
    55  accordance with section one hundred ninety-two of this article;
        S. 5208--A                          3
     1    b. the terms and conditions relating  to  use  of  the  payroll  card,
     2  including  a  list  of  fees  that  may  be assessed by the payroll card
     3  issuer;
     4    c.  the  methods  available  to  employees for accessing wages without
     5  costs;
     6    d. the methods available to employees for checking the balance in  the
     7  payroll card account without cost; and
     8    e. a statement that third parties may assess transaction fees in addi-
     9  tion to the fees assessed by the payroll card issuer.
    10    8.  An  employer  may not use a payroll card program that charges fees
    11  for point of sale transactions; the application, initiation, loading  of
    12  wages  by  the  employer; account maintenance or monthly maintenance; or
    13  mere participation in the payroll card program. Fees for  account  inac-
    14  tivity may be assessed following nine months of inactivity.
    15    9.  An  employee  paid  wages  by credit to a payroll card account may
    16  request in writing to  be  paid  wages  by  another  method  of  payment
    17  provided  by the employer in accordance with section one hundred ninety-
    18  two of this article. Following the written request, the employer  shall,
    19  within  two  pay periods, begin payment to the employee by the allowable
    20  method requested by the employee.
    21    10. The payroll card or payroll card account may not be linked to  any
    22  form  of  credit  including, but not limited to, overdraft fees or over-
    23  draft service fees, a loan against future pay,  or  a  cash  advance  on
    24  future pay or work not yet performed.
    25    11.  A  payroll  card program offered by an employer shall provide the
    26  employee  with  notices,  disclosures,  error   resolution   procedures,
    27  protections  from  unauthorized  use,  and  limitations  on liability in
    28  accordance with the electronic fund transfer act, 15 U.S.C.  §  1693  et
    29  seq, and regulation e, 29 C.F.R. part 1005, as may be amended.
    30    12.  Wages  credited  to a payroll card account must be insured by the
    31  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union  Admin-
    32  istration, or another entity on a pass through basis to the employee.
    33    13. No employer shall receive any compensation, bonus, reward or other
    34  financial  consideration  from a payroll card issuer based upon: (a) the
    35  amount or number of payroll card-related fees  paid  by  the  employer's
    36  employees;  or  (b) the number of employees who are paid wages through a
    37  payroll card account. Nothing in this section shall  preclude  employers
    38  from receiving account materials or a bulk rate or volume discount based
    39  on  the  number  of  employees that receive wages through a payroll card
    40  account.
    41    14. Where a collective bargaining  agreement  governs  the  method  by
    42  which  an  employer  must pay wages to its employees, an employer cannot
    43  seek consent to receive wages  on  a  payroll  card  from  any  employee
    44  covered by that collective bargaining agreement.
    45    §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    46  have become a law.