Worker Suing McDonald's Franchise Over Payroll Debit Cards

boozeman

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Worker suing McDonald's Franchise for forcing a fee ridden payroll debit card on employees - $1.50 charge for ATM withdrawals, $5 for over-the-counter cash withdrawals, $1 to check the balance, 75 cents per online bill payment.





She spent her days serving up Happy Meals, but when it came time to get paid, Natalie Gunshannon says a local McDonald's franchisee gave her an unhappy deal.

The Shavertown McDonald's forces workers to be paid only one way: with a payroll debit card that burdens workers with hefty fees to obtain their hard-earned cash, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday on behalf of Ms. Gunshannon and other McDonald's workers.




Ms. Gunshannon, 27, Dallas Twp., and an untold number of current and former employees had no option to receive a traditional paycheck or get paid by direct deposit, she and her attorneys said in the class-action against franchise owners Albert and Carol Mueller of Clarks Summit.

Ms. Gunshannon, who worked at the Shavertown McDonald's for a month after being hired April 24, refused to activate the payroll card after reviewing the fee structure, quit the job and reached out to an attorney to see if the practice was legal.




Attorney Michael J. Cefalo of West Pittston and his law firm then drafted a class-action lawsuit against the Muellers, who own 15 other McDonald's locations throughout Northeast Pennsylvania.

Filed in Luzerne County Court, the suit accused the Muellers and their limited partnership of violating the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Act and unlawfully boosting profits with the payroll card "scheme."




The suit seeks an unspecified amount of monetary damages on behalf of employees and asks a judge to award punitive damages against the company.

Beth Dal Santo, a spokeswoman for an association of McDonald's franchisees in the region, said the Muellers had not been served with the lawsuit Thursday and would not comment.

Ms. Gunshannon said the manager of the Muellers' Shavertown location refused to issue her a paper paycheck or pay via direct deposit, saying, "We only pay on the card."

The J.P. Morgan Chase payroll card carries fees for nearly every type of transaction, according to the lawsuit, including a $1.50 charge for ATM withdrawals, $5 for over-the-counter cash withdrawals, $1 to check the balance, 75 cents per online bill payment and $10 per month if the card is left inactive for more than three months.




A spokeswoman for the McDonald's Corp., which is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not respond to a telephone message and emailed questions Thursday about the company's guidelines for how its franchisees should pay employees.

Mr. Cefalo said they filed the lawsuit on behalf of all current and former employees who were paid with payroll cards without being given the option of receiving their wages in cash or via a check. State law, he said, requires wages be paid in "lawful money" or with a check.




The definition of "lawful money" is unclear, but the state Department of Labor and Industry and state banking regulators have endorsed payroll cards as a legal form of wage payment, according to the American Payroll Association, an industry trade association.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Labor and Industry said Thursday the department was researching the matter.




Ms. Gunshannon, who estimated the company owes her about $200, said she pursued the lawsuit because she thinks workers should have a choice in how they are paid.

"I tried to work with the company. They refused. I tried the main office in Clarks Summit. They refused," Ms. Gunshannon said. "I never activated the card. I refused the fees. I just want it to be fair."
 

Smitty

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Clarks Summit is like an hour from me. I commit people to the mental hospital there all the time, lulz.
 

Genghis Khan

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Good for her. This employment practice is ludicrous. I can't imagine anyone would agree to that payment scheme.
 

BipolarFuk

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Don't like, don't work there.

Corporations have to feed their families and stuff.
 

Clay_Allison

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I agree with this.
That's a clear cut violation of the law, when someone works for you, they deserve the money they earned, not some fancy way to get screwed out of it.

Sure the first thing most people would do is quit immediately when they realized what was up, but by then they've already been f*cked out of part of their two week's wages.

Honest day's work, honest day's pay.
 

Cotton

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That's a clear cut violation of the law, when someone works for you, they deserve the money they earned, not some fancy way to get screwed out of it.

Sure the first thing most people would do is quit immediately when they realized what was up, but by then they've already been f*cked out of part of their two week's wages.

Honest day's work, honest day's pay.
They aren't taking anything out of their check unless they perform those above actions, and none of them include using the debit cards for normal purchases. They would be able to quit with their full paycheck.

$1.50 charge for ATM withdrawals, $5 for over-the-counter cash withdrawals, $1 to check the balance, 75 cents per online bill payment.

Also...

The definition of "lawful money" is unclear, but the state Department of Labor and Industry and state banking regulators have endorsed payroll cards as a legal form of wage payment, according to the American Payroll Association, an industry trade association.

Seems it's not illegal according the the Department of Labor.
 
Last edited:

Clay_Allison

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They aren't taking anything out of their check unless they perform those above actions, and none of them include using the debit cards for normal purchases. They would be able to quit with their full paycheck.

$1.50 charge for ATM withdrawals, $5 for over-the-counter cash withdrawals, $1 to check the balance, 75 cents per online bill payment.
A charge for getting YOUR ACTUAL MONEY in cash. And you know you can't get it all at once because ATMs have a max withdrawal. So how are you not getting screwed out of some of your money?

It's illegal under the Sherman anti-trust act, which has been the law of the land for over 100 years to force people to purchase something unrelated as a condition of doing business with you.

We're not going back to Pullman towns and paying employees in company scrip to force them to shop at the company store like in the 1800s.
 

boozeman

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I can honestly say I have never seen an employer refuse to issue a hard check.

I get the idea with the debit thing but everyone I have ever seen use it as an option...not the only one.
 

NoDak

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They aren't taking anything out of their check unless they perform those above actions, and none of them include using the debit cards for normal purchases. They would be able to quit with their full paycheck.

$1.50 charge for ATM withdrawals, $5 for over-the-counter cash withdrawals, $1 to check the balance, 75 cents per online bill payment.
Just curious, but if they can't withdraw the money without incurring a charge, or pay their bills online without incurring a charge, how do you propose they pay their bills without being hit with some of these fees?
 

Cotton

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Just curious, but if they can't withdraw the money without incurring a charge, or pay their bills online without incurring a charge, how do you propose they pay their bills without being hit with some of these fees?
The issue was can they quit without losing money. And, they can. They can go to the issuing bank and get their money out without charge so long as they don't use an ATM to do it.

But, I'll play ball with you on the online bill pay and counter that they can call their creditors to make payment without a fee. But, if I were them I would quit and find another job.
 

Cotton

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A charge for getting YOUR ACTUAL MONEY in cash. And you know you can't get it all at once because ATMs have a max withdrawal. So how are you not getting screwed out of some of your money?

It's illegal under the Sherman anti-trust act, which has been the law of the land for over 100 years to force people to purchase something unrelated as a condition of doing business with you.

We're not going back to Pullman towns and paying employees in company scrip to force them to shop at the company store like in the 1800s.
The Department of Labor has deemed this legal, so take that up with them.

I can see their point. You could use this debit card without any additional fees.

Keep a registry and you don't have to check a balance.

Don't get OTC cash advance or use an ATM.

Or better yet, quit.

I am not advocating this is a good business model, but she has no legs to stand on for a lawsuit.
 

NoDak

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The issue was can they quit without losing money. And, they can. They can go to the issuing bank and get their money out without charge so long as they don't use an ATM to do it.

But, I'll play ball with you on the online bill pay and counter that they can call their creditors to make payment without a fee. But, if I were them I would quit and find another job.
Thanks for playing ball with me..?
 

Angrymesscan

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The J.P. Morgan Chase payroll card carries fees for nearly every type of transaction, according to the lawsuit, including a $1.50 charge for ATM withdrawals, $5 for over-the-counter cash withdrawals, $1 to check the balance, 75 cents per online bill payment and $10 per month if the card is left inactive for more than three months.
The issue was can they quit without losing money. And, they can. They can go to the issuing bank and get their money out without charge so long as they don't use an ATM to do it.

But, I'll play ball with you on the online bill pay and counter that they can call their creditors to make payment without a fee. But, if I were them I would quit and find another job.

Huh?
 

Carp

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I am sure McDonalds is in bed with Chase, so they get a little kick back on those fees as well. If they are going to take the time and effort to issue debit cards I wonder why they would not have the option of an eletronic transfer to your bank account?
 

Clay_Allison

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I am sure McDonalds is in bed with Chase, so they get a little kick back on those fees as well. If they are going to take the time and effort to issue debit cards I wonder why they would not have the option of an eletronic transfer to your bank account?
You answered your own question, they are paying their employees with one hand and stealing some of the money back with the other.
 

Genghis Khan

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The issue was can they quit without losing money. And, they can. They can go to the issuing bank and get their money out without charge so long as they don't use an ATM to do it.

I'm guessing you missed this part:


$5 for over-the-counter cash withdrawals


But, I'll play ball with you on the online bill pay and counter that they can call their creditors to make payment without a fee.

That's not always true either. For instance, my electric company will not let me pay them online or over the phone without charging a fee. I have to either mail them a check (which I hate) or use bill pay through my bank (which in this McDonald's worker's case, her bank would charge her).


But, if I were them I would quit and find another job.

That isn't the point here.
 

Carp

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The real sad part about this is that quite a few of the workers there probably don't even have a bank account to do an electronic transfer to.
 

Carp

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Bipo and Iamtdg are the last people that I would expect to support the little guy getting screwed over. To say not to work there is just stupid...and if you had to pay a fee on the money you make you would both be singing a different tune.
 
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