Committee weighs amendments to earned wage access law to ban tips and address 'stacking' and consumer protections
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Summary
HB 237 would add consumer protections to Maryland's earned wage access (EWA) statute, including prohibiting solicitation of voluntary 'tips', clarifying truth‑in‑lending and nondiscrimination coverage, and creating anti‑stacking measures; advocates supported the changes while industry urged waiting for OFR licensing outcomes.
Secretary Portia Wu (Maryland Department of Labor) and the Office of Financial Regulation presented House Bill 237 as targeted fixes to last year’s EWA law. They said the prior legislation established a licensing regime but unintentionally exempted certain consumer protections and allowed providers to solicit optional "tips." The proposed revisions would (1) clarify that EWA products fall under existing consumer lending protections such as anti‑discrimination and truth‑in‑lending provisions, and (2) prohibit solicitation of tips that act as additional charges to consumers.
OFR Commissioner Tony Salazar said the office has processed many EWA licensing requests through NMLS and supports prohibiting tips and adding anti‑discrimination protections; OFR’s market inquiry estimated Maryland consumers paid roughly $35 million in fees on about 5.5 million EWA transactions between 2019 and 2024. Consumer advocates (Maryland Legal Aid, the Attorney General’s office, CASH Campaign, Economic Action Maryland) urged further protections including a statutory anti‑stacking requirement to prevent consumers from taking multiple advances on the same pay period and an all‑in monthly fee cap. They cited technology fixes and data‑sharing approaches as feasible ways to prevent stacking.
Industry representatives and trade associations opposed the measures as premature, arguing the EWA law only took effect in October and OFR licensing is still unfolding; some firms said tips are voluntary and the default tip is set to zero. Several providers asked the committee to allow the current framework to be implemented before reopening statutory amendments. Committee members requested more data from OFR on licensing and enforcement and acknowledged stakeholders would continue negotiations.
