The Sorensen Monologues

Paycheck Swipe

I had no idea this payroll debit card nonsense was even happening until recently, when news broke about the McDonald’s employee who sued because she wanted another payment option. (The McDonald’s franchise targeted by the lawsuit has since agreed to offer a choice.)

Also quoted in the NYT piece is another employee:

Devonte Yates, 21, who earns $7.25 an hour working a drive-through station at a McDonald’s in Milwaukee, says he spends $40 to $50 a month on fees associated with his JPMorgan Chase payroll card.“It’s pretty bad,” he said. “There’s a fee for literally everything you do.”

Even if a worker managed to avoid incurring fees at that rate, $150 a year skims 1% off the income of a minimum-wage employee bringing home $15K annually. Just when you thought our current gilded age couldn’t get any worse!