welfare vs wages

[Danzig]

also, note that mcdonalds encourages using pay cards. i knew i'd heard something negative about that...

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entr...l_debit_cards/

Outrage has been building over payroll debit cards—fee-laden prepaid bank cards that some businesses now use to pay their workers—since the Times Leader reported on June 17 that Natalie Gunshannon of Dallas Township, Pa. had sued the McDonald's where she worked for making the cards compulsory. The cards are loaded with sneaky fees that leave workers essentially paying the bank for access to their wages.

Since the story broke, Gunshannon's employer has made the cards voluntary, and New York state has opened an investigation into their use.

Working In These Times covered the story on June 20, reporting:

The lawsuit, filed by attorney Mike Cefalo of Cefalo & Associates and provided to In These Times by the firm, alleges that the cards violate the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Act, which provides that 'Wages shall be paid in lawful money of the United States or check.' The suit further alleges that the fees reduce the actual wages workers receive—in some cases bringing them below minimum wage, which in Pennsylvania remains at the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour.