Bill Text: NY A06894 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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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: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-06-11 - print number 6894a [A06894 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A06894-Amended.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        6894--A
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                     April 5, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M. of A. WRIGHT, HEVESI, ZEBROWSKI -- Multi-Sponsored by
         -- M. of A.  CURRAN -- read once and  referred  to  the  Committee  on
         Labor  --  recommitted  to  the  Committee on Labor in accordance with
         Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- 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    S 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 AUTHORIZATION IN ADVANCE TO RECEIVE HIS OR  HER  WAGES
   19  IN THIS MANNER; OR
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD10535-03-2
       A. 6894--A                          2
    1    D.  BY CREDIT TO A PAYROLL CARD IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION ONE HUNDRED
    2  NINETY-TWO-A OF THIS ARTICLE, PROVIDED THAT THE EMPLOYEE  GIVES  WRITTEN
    3  AUTHORIZATION IN ADVANCE TO RECEIVE HIS OR HER WAGES IN THIS MANNER.
    4    S 3. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 192-a to read as
    5  follows:
    6    S  192-A.  PAYMENT  OF  WAGES  USING PAYROLL CARDS. 1. AS USED IN THIS
    7  SECTION:
    8    A. "PAYROLL CARD" MEANS A PREPAID CARD OR  OTHER  DEVICE  USED  BY  AN
    9  EMPLOYEE TO ACCESS WAGES FROM A PAYROLL CARD ACCOUNT;
   10    B.  "PAYROLL  CARD ACCOUNT" MEANS AN ACCOUNT THAT IS DIRECTLY OR INDI-
   11  RECTLY ESTABLISHED THROUGH AN EMPLOYER AND TO  WHICH  TRANSFERS  OF  THE
   12  EMPLOYEE'S WAGES, SALARY OR OTHER COMPENSATION ARE MADE; AND
   13    C. "PAYROLL CARD ISSUER" MEANS A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION OR OTHER ENTITY
   14  THAT ISSUES A PAYROLL CARD TO EMPLOYEES ON BEHALF OF THEIR EMPLOYER.
   15    2. IF AN EMPLOYER PAYS WAGES TO EMPLOYEES BY CREDIT TO A PAYROLL CARD:
   16    A.  EXCEPT  AS  PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH B OF THIS SUBDIVISION, EMPLOYEES
   17  MUST BE ABLE TO MAKE AT  LEAST  ONE  WITHDRAWAL  OR  TRANSFER  FROM  THE
   18  PAYROLL CARD ACCOUNT IN EACH PAY PERIOD WITHOUT CHARGE FOR ANY AMOUNT UP
   19  TO AND INCLUDING THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE EMPLOYEE'S WAGES FOR THE PERIOD.
   20    B.  IF  WAGES  ARE PAID MORE FREQUENTLY THAN WEEKLY, EMPLOYEES MUST BE
   21  ABLE TO MAKE AT LEAST ONE  WITHDRAWAL  OR  TRANSFER  EACH  WEEK  WITHOUT
   22  CHARGE FOR ANY AMOUNT UP TO AND INCLUDING THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE EMPLOY-
   23  EE'S WAGES FOR THAT WEEK.
   24    C.  IF  AN  EMPLOYER COMPLIES WITH THE WITHDRAWAL REQUIREMENTS OF THIS
   25  SUBDIVISION AND THE NOTICE  REQUIREMENT  IN  SUBDIVISION  FOUR  OF  THIS
   26  SECTION,  FEES  ASSESSED  BY  THE PAYROLL CARD ISSUER IN ACCORDANCE WITH
   27  SUCH NOTICE SHALL NOT BE DEEMED TO BE DEDUCTIONS FROM  WAGES  AND  SHALL
   28  NOT  BE  DEEMED TO VIOLATE SECTION ONE HUNDRED NINETY-ONE OR ONE HUNDRED
   29  NINETY-THREE OF THIS ARTICLE.
   30    3. 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 ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER
   33  IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION ONE HUNDRED NINETY-ONE-C OF THIS ARTICLE.
   34    4. EMPLOYEES WHO RECEIVE WAGES BY CREDIT TO A  PAYROLL  CARD  MUST  BE
   35  PROVIDED  WITH  A  MEANS OF CHECKING THEIR PAYROLL CARD ACCOUNT BALANCES
   36  THROUGH AN AUTOMATED TELEPHONE  SYSTEM  AND  ONE  ADDITIONAL  ELECTRONIC
   37  MEANS, WITHOUT COST IRRESPECTIVE OF NUMBER OF INQUIRIES MADE.
   38    5. PRIOR TO PAYING AN EMPLOYEE'S WAGES BY CREDIT TO A PAYROLL CARD, AN
   39  EMPLOYER MUST PROVIDE THE EMPLOYEE WITH NOTICE OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS IN
   40  PAPER  OR  PRINTABLE  FORM. NOTICE MUST BE PROVIDED IN THE LANGUAGES THE
   41  EMPLOYER NORMALLY USES TO  COMMUNICATE  EMPLOYMENT-RELATED  POLICIES  TO
   42  THEIR EMPLOYEES'.
   43    A.  THE  TERMS  AND  CONDITIONS  RELATING  TO USE OF THE PAYROLL CARD,
   44  INCLUDING A LIST OF FEES THAT  MAY  BE  ASSESSED  BY  THE  PAYROLL  CARD
   45  ISSUER;
   46    B.  THE  METHODS  AVAILABLE  TO  EMPLOYEES FOR ACCESSING WAGES WITHOUT
   47  COSTS;
   48    C. THE METHODS AVAILABLE TO EMPLOYEES FOR CHECKING THE BALANCE IN  THE
   49  PAYROLL CARD ACCOUNT WITHOUT COST; AND
   50    D. A STATEMENT AS TO WHETHER THIRD PARTIES MAY ASSES ADDITIONAL FEES.
   51    6.  WAGES  CREDITED  TO  A PAYROLL CARD ACCOUNT MUST BE INSURED BY THE
   52  FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION, THE NATIONAL CREDIT UNION  ADMIN-
   53  ISTRATION, OR ANOTHER ENTITY ON A PASS THROUGH BASIS TO THE EMPLOYEE.
   54    S  4.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
   55  have become a law.