Cal. WIC § 12304.4 — California Code / Code wic / Division 9 / Part 3 / Chapter 3 / Article 7 / Section 12304.4
Section 12304.4
Status: in_force

(a) The department shall establish a program of direct deposit by electronic transfer for payments to in-home supportive services providers. A provider may choose to receive payments via direct deposit at the provider’s option. The department, the Controller, and the California Health and Human Services Agency shall make all necessary automation changes to allow for payment by direct deposit.

(b) On or before March 31, 2008, the department shall complete those items pertaining to the implementation of direct deposit over which they have independent control, or those items that do not depend on ongoing coordination with the office of the Controller in order to be completed. Examples of these items include, but are not limited to, rulemaking Case Management Information and Payroll Systems (CMIPS) modifications, provider notifications, and all-county letters. The department and the office of the Controller shall cooperate fully on coordination, implementation, and testing, on a timeframe that shall not delay implementation of the project. Notwithstanding any other law, direct deposit for in-home supportive services providers shall be implemented on or before June 30, 2008.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law, a person entitled to the receipt of direct payment as an individual provider pursuant to Section 12302.2 for providing in-home supportive services may authorize payment to be directly deposited by electronic fund transfer into the person’s account at the financial institution of the person’s choice under a program for direct deposit by electronic transfer established by the department.

(d) (1) (A) Notwithstanding Sections 212 and 213 of the Labor Code, providers entitled to the receipt of direct wage payment as an individual provider pursuant to Section 12302.2 for providing in-home supportive services, or providers who provide waiver personal care services pursuant to Section 14132.97, shall receive payment of wages only by direct deposit or provider card, with either method chosen at the preference of each provider.

(B) Subparagraph (A) becomes effective by the later of the following dates:

(i) July 1, 2021.

(ii) An alternative date identified by the department, with notification provided to the Legislature, relative to the completion of statewide implementation of the federal electronic visit verification requirement.

(2) (A) The department shall encourage providers to enroll in either direct deposit or a provider card in preparation for, and in advance of, the effective date of the requirement in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).

(B) Each provider shall identify a bank account into which wages can be direct deposited, select a prepaid account available in the private market that complies with applicable federal and state laws through which the provider can receive wages, or a provider card made available through the process described in subdivision (e) through which the provider can receive wages.

(e) (1) The State Department of Social Services shall issue a request for proposal for one or more provider card issuers to offer to providers so the provider may enroll in a provider card service in order to access the provider’s wages.

(2) A provider card issuer selected by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall comply with all of the following:

(A) Comply with all of the requirements, and provide a provider with all of the consumer protections, that apply to a provider card under the rules implementing the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1693 et seq.), or other rules subsequently adopted under the EFTA that apply to payroll cards, except that the disclosures required under federal law to provide notice of the ban on compulsory use under Section 1693k(2) of Title 15 of the United States Code may be modified, as appropriate, to reflect the relationship of the provider to the department.

(B) Satisfy the requirements for passthrough deposit or share insurance so that the funds available on the provider card are eligible for insurance for the benefit of the provider provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in accordance with Part 330 (commencing with Section 330.1) of Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations or by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund in accordance with Part 745 (commencing with Section 745.0) of Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(C) Minimize charges and fees for providers using the card and not impose any of the following fees, or any other fee that may be specified by the department in the request for proposals:

(i) An application, initiation, loading, participation, or other fee to receive wages or to obtain the provider card.

(ii) A fee for a point-of-sale transaction, unless the fee is charged by a person that accepts credit or debit cards for the transaction and the provider initiated the transaction.

(iii) A fee to withdraw funds from a teller or an automated teller machine at any financial institution that is in the provider card issuer’s network.

(iv) An overdraft, shortage, or low-balance fee or charge, or any fee or finance charge for any form of credit or overdraft that is automatically repaid from the provider card after delivery of the payment, including, but not limited to, a loan against future payments or a cash advance on future payments.

(v) A fee for a declined transaction.

(vi) A fee for inactivity.

(vii) A fee for the first three telephone calls to a live customer service representative per pay period.

(viii) A fee to the access balance or other provider card information online, by an interactive voice response system, or by any other automated system offered in conjunction with the provider card, or at an automated teller machine at any financial institution that is in the provider card issuer’s network.

(ix) A fee to close the provider card or disburse the remaining provider card balance.

(x) A fee to provide one replacement card each year.

(3) The provider card issuer selected by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall, at no cost to the provider, do all the following:

(A) Disclose in writing, or electronically via email, to each provider choosing to use one, the entire terms and conditions of the provider card. The provider shall select the method of disclosure at the time the provider enrolls for payment of wages by provider card.

(B) Provide the ability to withdraw the entire amount of wages for each pay period at an automated teller machine at any financial institution or at any financial institution that is in the provider card issuer’s network. This does not preclude additional methods by which a provider can access wages deposited on the provider card.

(C) An annual notice, sent either by mail or electronically, at the choice of the provider, informing the provider of the right to request periodic statements, 12-month transaction histories, and the balance of available funds.

(f) This section does not inhibit the ability of a recognized labor organization representing providers from offering a particular provider card to the providers represented by that organization.

(g) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Health Care Services may implement, interpret, or make specific this section by means of all-county letters or similar instructions, without taking any regulatory action.

(h) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Issuer” means a provider card issuer, and includes a person acting as an agent of an issuer, directly or indirectly.

(2) “Provider card” means an access mechanism, including a prepaid account or prepaid card, as those terms are defined under the EFTA or other rules subsequently adopted under the EFTA, a code, or another device, through which the provider can access the provider’s wages.