Vermont committee hears mixed testimony on H.99 to regulate earned-wage-access services

The Vermont House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development heard testimony Jan. 30 on H.99, legislation to license and regulate companies that let workers access wages before payday.

Supporters from multiple earned-wage-access (EWA) companies described how their services work and said the bill offers consumer protections; a consumer advocate warned the measure would let providers evade Vermont's existing wage-assignment and usury limits and urged the committee to treat EWA as loans.

The bill matters to Vermont workers and employers because EWA companies say they reduce late fees and overdrafts for people living paycheck to paycheck, while critics say the short-term fees can amount to triple-digit annual rates and create repeated cost burdens.

Ben LaRocco, Senior Director of Government Relations at Earnin, testified that Earnin is a direct-to-consumer EWA provider and described the company's model and limits. "Our mission is to create a more worker friendly payroll system by giving workers access to the wages that they've already earned when they need it instead of waiting for an arbitrary 2 or 4 week pay cycle," LaRocco said. He told the committee Earnin offers a free ACH transfer option and a faster paid option, and that its expedited fees "range between 2.99 and 5.99 depending on a number of different services." LaRocco said Earnin…