Committee adopts amendment to earned-wage-access bill after consumer groups urge stronger guardrails
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Summary
Lawmakers amended House Bill 152 to exempt certain earned-wage-access (EWA) providers from provider requirements and permit reporting to consumer reporting agencies; consumer advocates and community development groups urged fee caps, default tip settings and bringing some products under existing short-term loan law.
The House Commerce and Labor Committee adopted an amendment to House Bill 152 after opponent testimony from consumer advocates who urged stronger guardrails for earned-wage-access (EWA) products.
Representative Hoops moved to amend HB 152 with amendment 0931, which narrows some provider requirements for EWA firms, removes a ban on reporting payment information to consumer reporting agencies and adjusts how credit scores are used in eligibility checks. The committee adopted the amendment without recorded opposition.
Opponents included Monica Birx, policy counsel with the Center for Responsible Lending, who described two dominant EWA models — direct-to-consumer apps and employer-integrated products — and said litigation and enforcement actions have repeatedly shown harms. "This bill is not about financial inclusion. It is about legalized exploitation," Birx told the committee, summarizing findings from lawsuits and enforcement actions and urging lawmakers to consider fee caps and other protections.
Tori Hollingsworth, executive director of the Ohio CDC Association, called for stronger consumer protections in the bill, including fee caps modeled on other states and defaulting optional tips or gratuities to $0 to prevent behavioral tactics that make tipping effectively mandatory.
Committee members discussed the differences between direct and employer-integrated models and whether bringing the products under Ohio's Short Term Loan Act or Small Loan Act would provide appropriate oversight. Witnesses said employer-integrated products often replicate payday-loan dynamics and that consumer-facing apps can encourage repeated, costly use.
What happens next: the amendment was adopted and opponents asked the committee to pursue additional changes such as fee caps and explicit consumer protections if the bill advances.