Wendy’s Class Action Claims Payroll Debit Card Fees Not Disclosed

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A Wendy’s employee who says he was forced to use an ADP payroll card to access his wages has filed a class action lawsuit alleging he was never notified about the fees associated with using the card.

Last week, plaintiff Juan Endara filed a class action lawsuit against Automatic Data Processing Inc., First Data Corporation, Meta Financial Group Inc., MetaBank, The Wendy’s Company, Wendy’s Restaurants LLC, Wendy’s International Inc. and Wendy’s of N.E. Florida Inc.

According to the class action lawsuit, Endara was employed at a Wendy’s restaurant in Orlando, Fla. from 2008 through 2012. Until 2009, he says he received his pay in the form of a paper check. Endara claims he never provided authorization for Wendy’s to deposit his wages directly into a checking account.

In 2009, Wendy’s reportedly switched its policy and no longer issued paper checks to employees in order to save the company money. According to the ADP class action lawsuit, Wendy’s compelled employees to accept an ADP payroll card unless they authorized the company to deposit their paychecks directly into a checking account.

Endara claims that Wendy’s emphasized the payroll card option without notifying employees about the other available options, effectively forcing them to use the payroll debit cards.

“There was no reminder of Wendy’s direct deposit option, and Plaintiff was never informed of an opt-out option even though Plaintiff was not a new hire and worked prior to the transition,” the payroll debit card class action lawsuit alleges. “Plaintiff and Class members had no notice of other options to obtain their wages and were forced to use the payroll debit card program as the only access to their wages.”

According to the ADP class action lawsuit, the ADP payroll debit card Endara received was not accompanied with any packets or pamphlets with information about a user agreement, terms and conditions or other disclosures. Endara says that he was not provided with any information about potential fees or other information when he called a phone number to activate the card.

Endara says the defendants failed to prominently and clearly inform him of the fees and charges associated with using the payroll card. He says he never authorized the companies to charge the fees.

According to the payroll debit card class action lawsuit, Endara and the other putative Class Members were only able to withdraw money from an ATM in $20 increments, so they were unable to access “the full amount of their wages in a form that was negotiable and payable in cash, on demand, without discount.”

The ADP class action lawsuit charges the defendants with violations of Florida law, including the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, negligence and unjust enrichment. Endara seeks restitution, statutory damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.

Endara is represented by Joshua H. Eggnatz and Michael J. Pascucci of Eggnatz Lopatin & Pasucci LLP.

The Wendy’s ADP Payroll Debit Card Class Action Lawsuit is Juan Endara v. Automatic Data Processing Inc., et al., Case No. 6:16-cv-01032-ORL-40DAB, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division.