Last month, Georgia became the latest state to pass legislation
governing the payment of wages via "payroll cards." Gov.
Nathan Deal signed the new law on May 5, 2015. Prior to the passing
of this bill, the payment of wages via payroll cards in Georgia was
neither explicitly lawful nor unlawful. Any open questions about
that issue have now been put to rest by the new legislation.
Many employers across the country have moved away from providing
employees with physical checks on pay day, and have moved to a
paperless alternative such as direct deposit. While direct deposit
remains the most favored option for paperless wage payment, the
payroll card alternative continues to grow in popularity. Payroll
cards work similarly to a gift card; the employer simply delivers
an employee's wages to a third party who in turn adds the wages
to the payroll card which is then provided to the employee.
