We have previously reported and blogged about challenges to paying employees through debit card-like "paycards." A recent Pennsylvania decision has amplified those concerns.
In a case of first impression, the trial court in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania found that paying employees through mandatory payroll cards does not comply with a Pennsylvania law, the Wage Payment and Collection Law, which requires "wages" to be paid through either "lawful money of the United States" or a "check." Siciliano v. Mueller, Case No. 2013-07010 (Pa. Com. Pl., Luzerne Cnty. 2015) (citing 43 P.S. § 260.3). Pennsylvania adopted this statutory language decades ago, principally to bar employers from paying employees in scrip (i.e., worthless Monopoly-style company money). But, if the Court's ruling stands, Pennsylvania employers may now face liability if they pay their employees through a debit card instead of cash, check, or upon the employee's written consent direct deposit. See 7 P.S. § 6121 (defining "check" to...
