S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  6608

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                             March 27, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. PERRY -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Labor

AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to specifying conditions  for
  the payment of wages to employees by direct deposit to a payroll debit
  card

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 192 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 301  of
the  laws  of 1974, subdivision 1 as added by chapter 475 of the laws of
1981 and renumbered by chapter 170 of the laws of 1994 and subdivision 2
as amended by chapter 304 of the laws of 2007, is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  S  192.  [Cash  payment]  PAYMENT of wages. 1.   EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN
SUBDIVISIONS TWO AND FOUR OF THIS SECTION, PAYMENT OF WAGES SHALL BE  IN
LAWFUL  MONEY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES OR WITH CHECKS DRAWN ON FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS WHERE SUITABLE ARRANGEMENTS ARE MADE  FOR  THE  CASHING  OF
SUCH  CHECKS BY EMPLOYEES WITHOUT DIFFICULTY AND FOR THE FULL AMOUNT FOR
WHICH THEY WERE DRAWN.
  2. No employer shall  without  the  advance  written  consent  of  any
employee directly pay or deposit the net wage or salary of such employee
in a bank or other financial institution.
  [2.] AN EMPLOYER MAY ARRANGE WITH A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION OR FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS TO PAY THE WAGES OF AN EMPLOYEE BY DIRECT DEPOSIT, PROVIDED
THAT ALL OF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS ARE MET:
  (A)  THE EMPLOYEE SHALL FIRST CONSENT IN WRITING TO THE DIRECT DEPOSIT
OF HIS OR HER WAGES;
  (B) THE EMPLOYEE'S CONSENT AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDI-
VISION SHALL BE OBTAINED BY THE EMPLOYER WITHOUT INTIMIDATION, COERCION,
OR FEAR OF DISCHARGE OR REPRISAL FOR REFUSAL TO ACCEPT THE DIRECT DEPOS-
IT ARRANGEMENT;

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD10169-01-5

              

A. 6608                             2

  (C) THE EMPLOYEE'S CONSENT AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDI-
VISION SHALL NOT BE A CONDITION OF HIRE OR CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT;
  (D)  THE  EMPLOYEE'S WAGES SO DEPOSITED SHALL BE SUBJECT TO WITHDRAWAL
AND OTHER DISPOSITION BY THE EMPLOYEE TO THE SAME EXTENT AND IN THE SAME
MANNER AS IF SUCH DEPOSIT HAD BEEN MADE DIRECTLY BY THE EMPLOYEE;
  (E) THE EMPLOYEE SHALL BE FURNISHED WITH  A  STATEMENT  OF  DEDUCTIONS
MADE  FROM  HIS  OR  HER  WAGES FOR EACH PAY PERIOD SUCH DEDUCTIONS WERE
MADE; AND
  (F) THE EMPLOYEE SHALL, ON TIMELY NOTICE TO THE EMPLOYER, BE PERMITTED
BY THE EMPLOYER TO ELECT NOT TO HAVE HIS OR HER WAGES DEPOSITED  IN  THE
MANNER  PRESCRIBED  IN  THIS SUBDIVISION AND TO BE PAID HIS OR HER WAGES
DIRECTLY OR AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION FOUR OF THIS SECTION.
  3. WHEN AN EMPLOYEE WITH DIRECT DEPOSIT HAS HIS OR HER ACCOUNT DEBITED
WITH A CHECK-DEPOSIT-RETURN FEE WITH REGARD TO THE DIRECT DEPOSIT OF HIS
OR HER WAGES, THE EMPLOYER SHALL  REIMBURSE  THE  EMPLOYEE  AS  SOON  AS
POSSIBLE,  BUT  NO  LATER  THAN  THE  NEXT  REGULARLY  SCHEDULED PAYDAY.
REIMBURSEMENT BY THE EMPLOYER SHALL  BE  FOR  THE  FULL  AMOUNT  OF  THE
CHECK-DEPOSIT-RETURN FEE AND SHALL NOT BE PAID TO THE EMPLOYEE AS WAGES.
  4.  NO  EMPLOYER  SHALL  WITHOUT  THE  ADVANCE  WRITTEN CONSENT OF ANY
EMPLOYEE DIRECTLY PAY OR DEPOSIT THE NET WAGE OR SALARY OF SUCH EMPLOYEE
BY CAUSING THE AMOUNT OF SUCH EMPLOYEE'S WAGES  TO  BE  DEPOSITED  IN  A
PAYROLL DEBIT CARD ACCOUNT.  AN EMPLOYER MAY PAY THE WAGES OF AN EMPLOY-
EE  BY  CAUSING THE AMOUNT OF SUCH EMPLOYEE'S WAGES TO BE DEPOSITED IN A
PAYROLL DEBIT CARD ACCOUNT, PROVIDED THAT ALL OF  THE  FOLLOWING  CONDI-
TIONS ARE MET:
  (A)  THE EMPLOYEE SHALL FIRST CONSENT IN WRITING TO THE DEPOSIT OF HIS
OR HER WAGES IN A PAYROLL DEBIT CARD ACCOUNT;
  (B) THE EMPLOYEE'S CONSENT AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDI-
VISION SHALL BE OBTAINED BY THE EMPLOYER WITHOUT INTIMIDATION, COERCION,
OR FEAR OF DISCHARGE OR REPRISAL FOR REFUSAL TO ACCEPT THE PAYROLL DEBIT
CARD ACCOUNT DEPOSIT ARRANGEMENT;
  (C) THE EMPLOYEE'S CONSENT AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDI-
VISION SHALL NOT BE A CONDITION OF HIRE OR CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT;
  (D) THE EMPLOYEE'S WAGES SO DEPOSITED IN A PAYROLL DEBIT CARD  ACCOUNT
SHALL  BE SUBJECT TO WITHDRAWAL AND OTHER DISPOSITION BY THE EMPLOYEE TO
THE SAME EXTENT AND IN THE SAME MANNER AS IF SUCH DEPOSIT HAD BEEN  MADE
DIRECTLY  BY  THE  EMPLOYEE  INTO  AN  ACCOUNT MAINTAINED IN A FINANCIAL
INSTITUTION IN THE NAME OF THE EMPLOYEE;
  (E) ON AT LEAST ONE OCCASION PER PAY PERIOD,  THE  EMPLOYEE  SHALL  BE
PERMITTED, USING THE PAYROLL DEBIT CARD, TO WITHDRAW HIS OR HER WAGES IN
FULL,  IN  LAWFUL  MONEY  OF  THE  UNITED STATES, WITHOUT ANY FEE TO THE
EMPLOYEE AND WITHOUT DIFFICULTY;
  (F) THE EMPLOYEE SHALL BE FURNISHED WITH  A  STATEMENT  OF  DEDUCTIONS
MADE  FROM  HIS  OR  HER  WAGES FOR EACH PAY PERIOD SUCH DEDUCTIONS WERE
MADE; AND
  (G) THE EMPLOYEE SHALL, ON TIMELY NOTICE TO THE EMPLOYER, BE PERMITTED
BY THE EMPLOYER TO ELECT NOT TO HAVE HIS OR HER WAGES DEPOSITED  IN  THE
MANNER  PRESCRIBED  IN  THIS SUBDIVISION AND TO BE PAID HIS OR HER WAGES
DIRECTLY OR IN THE MANNER PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION.
  5. AN EMPLOYER SHALL PAY THE FULL AMOUNT  OF  WAGES  DUE  HIS  OR  HER
EMPLOYEES  AT LEAST TWICE DURING EACH CALENDAR MONTH, ON REGULAR PAYDAYS
DESIGNATED IN ADVANCE BY THE EMPLOYER.
  6. This section shall not apply to any person employed in a bona  fide
executive,  administrative,  or professional capacity whose earnings are
in excess of nine hundred dollars a week, nor to employees working on  a
farm not connected with a factory.

A. 6608                             3

  7. AS USED IN THIS SECTION:
  (A)  "CHECK-DEPOSIT-RETURN  FEE"  MEANS  A CHARGE WHICH RESULTS FROM A
PAYROLL CHECK HAVING BEEN RETURNED DUE TO  INSUFFICIENT  OR  UNCOLLECTED
FUNDS;
  (B)  "DIRECT  DEPOSIT"  MEANS  PAYMENT  OF THE WAGES OF AN EMPLOYEE BY
CAUSING THE AMOUNT OF SUCH  EMPLOYEE'S  WAGES  TO  BE  DEPOSITED  IN  AN
ACCOUNT  OR  ACCOUNTS MAINTAINED IN A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION OR FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS IN THE NAME OF THE EMPLOYEE;
  (C)   "FINANCIAL   INSTITUTION"   MEANS   ANY    STATE-CHARTERED    OR
FEDERALLY-CHARTERED  INSTITUTION  AUTHORIZED  TO  ACCEPT DEPOSITS IN NEW
YORK; AND
  (D) "PAYROLL DEBIT CARD" MEANS A MAGNETICALLY ENCODED CARD ISSUED BY A
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION, WHICH PROVIDES AN  EMPLOYEE  WITH  THE  MEANS  OF
OBTAINING  THE FULL AMOUNT OF ALL WAGES EARNED IN A PAY PERIOD IN A FORM
THAT IS EQUIVALENT TO PAYMENT IN LAWFUL  MONEY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,
PAYMENT BY CHECK OR PAYMENT BY DIRECT DEPOSIT.
  S  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
have become a law.