More McDonald's Employees Join Payroll Debit Card Lawsuit

Attorneys suing a Pennsylvania McDonald’s franchise for requiring employees to be paid with debit cards have added more plaintiffs in an amended civil complaint filed in Luzerne County Court.

The suit, initially filed in June by Natalie Gunshannon, a Dallas Township woman who worked at the Shavertown McDonald’s, claims workers at a group of restaurants owned by a Clarks Summit couple were illegally burdened by debit card fees to obtain their pay.

In the amended lawsuit, attorneys added four new plaintiffs and noted the class-action suit is being filed “on behalf of themselves and all other persons similarly situated.”

The new plaintiffs include:

Alisha Siciliano, of West Pittston, and Cassie Staretz, of Taylor, who worked at a McDonald’s in Moosic.

Samantha Lynn Earley, of Luzerne, and Justin Eck, of Hanover Township, who worked at the company’s Hanover Township location.

Like Gunshannon, the new plaintiffs say they were given no other choice than to be paid with a debit card and were never instructed how to access their wages without incurring fees.

The J.P. Morgan Chase payroll card carries fees for nearly every type of transaction, according to the lawsuit, including a $1.50 charge for ATM withdrawals, $1 to check the balance, 75 cents per online bill payment and $10 per month if the card is left inactive for more than three months.

The class-action suit, filed by attorneys with Cefalo and Associates in West Pittston, seeks an unspecified amount of monetary damages on behalf of employees and asks a judge to award punitive damages against Albert and Carol Mueller’s company, which owns 16 regional McDonald’s restaurants.

Earlier this month, attorneys for the Muellers responded to Gunshannon’s suit, claiming the litigation has no merit because the pay method is legal and workers agreed to it when they were hired.

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