Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act
Latest action · Dec 3, 2024 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 650.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 20, 2024
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act
This bill addresses the regulation of earned wage access products. Earned wage access products provide consumers with access to their earned wages before their scheduled pay day.
The bill specifies that earned wage access products are not consumer credit products for purposes of regulation under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). TILA requires consumer credit products to disclose borrowing costs, finance charges, and the total cost of the loan.
The bill requires providers to inform consumers of their rights under an agreement for an earned wage access product and to disclose all associated fees before the consumer enters into an agreement. Providers must also inform consumers of any material changes to the terms or conditions before implementing those changes.
Under the bill, providers of earned wage access products
- must establish a policy for responding to customer disputes;
- are prohibited from bringing civil suits or from pursuing collection to compel repayment, except in cases of fraud; and
- must reimburse the consumer for overdraft fees or penalties imposed on a consumer by their depository institution if incurred because the provider withdrew an incorrect amount or withdrew on an incorrect date.
Providers are prohibited from sharing proceeds, fees, or gratuities with the consumer’s employer. The bill also limits the form of payment providers may accept from consumers and limits certain additional fees for failure to pay.
If a provider solicits, charges, or receives a tip, gratuity, or other donation from a consumer, the provider must disclose the voluntary nature of such tip, gratuity, or donation.
Cosponsors 6
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 20, 2024 to Apr 16, 2024; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-AR | J. French Hill | Original | Feb 20, 2024 |
| R-FL | Byron Donalds | Feb 28, 2024 | |
| R-KY | Andy Barr | Feb 29, 2024 | |
| R-PA | Daniel Meuser | Feb 29, 2024 | |
| R-MO | Blaine Luetkemeyer | Mar 5, 2024 | |
| R-TX | Pete Sessions | Apr 16, 2024 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Financial Services Committee | Referred Feb 20, 2024Markup Apr 17, 2024Reported Dec 3, 2024 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 3, 2024Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Financial Services. H. Rept. 118-787.
- Dec 3, 2024Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 650.
- Apr 17, 2024Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Apr 17, 2024Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 28 - 22.
- Feb 20, 2024Introduced in House
- Feb 20, 2024Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 170, no. 32, February 20, 2024, page H687.
CRS reports 3
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 3
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| IF12861 | Interest Rate Caps on Credit Cards: Policy Issues | Resource | Mar 10, 2026 |
| IF12769 | Overview of the Truth in Lending Act | Resource | Sep 19, 2024 |
| IF12727 | Earned Wage Access Products | Resource | Jul 31, 2024 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To regulate the business of offering and providing earned wage access services to consumers, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector.
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 3, 2024Reported in House
- Feb 20, 2024Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
