Are Payroll Cards Illegal in Pennsylvania?

Are payroll cards illegal in Pennsylvania? Beats me. But we might find out soon.

A former McDonald's employee is suing the franchisee for paying her through a debit card.

Natalie Gunshannon, a single mother, 27, said she and other workers were paid through a JPMorgan Chase Payroll Card, which has a $1.50 fee for ATM withdrawals, a $10 inactivity fee after 90 days, and a 75 cent online payment fee per transaction and other fees.

According to the linked article, she is bringing the claim under the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law (WPCL).

The WPCL does provide that "wages shall be paid in lawful money of the United States or check . . . ." 43 P.S. § 260.3. In the nearly 30 seconds I spent researching the issue for this blog post, I didn't see any further explanation.

If you pay Pennsylvania employees with these payroll cards, you should probably follow this case pretty closely.