Judge: More than 2,000 Pennsylvania McDonald's workers can sue over costly payroll cards

A northeastern Pennsylvania judge has ruled that more than 2,000 people can take the owners of 16 McDonald's restaurants to court over their practice of paying employees with fee-laden debit cards.

Former McDonald's employee Natalie Gunshannon and four other people who worked for the franchise owners filed suit in 2013, saying the payroll card they were forced to use charged fees for numerous kinds of transactions.

The Citizens' Voice of Wilkes-Barre (http://bit.ly/1PoIS3a ) reports that Luzerne County Judge Thomas F. Burke Jr. gave class-action status to the lawsuit this week, entitling nearly 2,400 people to damages if the plaintiffs win.

After the suit was filed, franchise owners Albert and Carol Mueller said they would give employees the choice of being paid by check, direct deposit or payroll card.