Update on Bank Fees

Early this week I wrote about unemployed workers getting hit with bank fees when they access their unemployment insurance benefit. Thankfully, Charles Rangel, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Jim McDermott, chairman of the subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, have decided to act. This week they sent a letter to Hilda Solis, Secretary of the Department of Labor asking for an investigation of state-level disbursement of unemployment benefits.

Here is an excerpt:

We write today to request that the Department of Labor determine the extent and impact of, as well as alternatives to, banking fees that are imposed upon unemployed workers who receive their weekly unemployment insurance (UI) benefit payments through debit cards. It has recently come to our attention that a number of States issue UI payments via debit cards, and that charges made to these cards, as well as customer service inquiries, may be subject to banking fees. Additionally, there is some evidence that UI beneficiaries are often unaware of the fees they might face when using such cards.