New push to outlaw excessive payroll card fees in New York

There's new momentum behind a proposal to regulate payroll cards to prevent employers from imposing unfair fees on their own workers.

Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle said Tuesday that he will sponsor legislation from Attorney General Eric Schneiderman that seeks to regulate the cards, which are prepaid debit cards increasingly used by employers as an alternative to direct deposit or a paper check.

Schneiderman says his office began investigating the cards after receiving complaints about excessive fees. His proposal would require the clear disclosure of the cards' terms and conditions, prohibit certain fees altogether, and make employers give workers the option of direct deposit or a paper check.

Schneiderman says workers shouldn't have to pay a fee to get their compensation.