Oppose the Earned Wage Access “Protection” Act

January 20, 2026

Members of Congress are considering the so-called Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act – which despite its name, does not protect consumers. Fueling an affordability crisis, the bill would protect payday loan apps that take hundreds of dollars a year from low-wage workers and would exempt high-cost payday loans from federal and state protections, including those for servicemembers and Veterans.

In November, nearly 200 labor, consumer, and civil rights organizations urged Congress to oppose a similar bill, but this current bill is far worse; it includes all of the previous flaws and puts them on steroids. The bill:

• Broadly preempts state laws and oversight, including all state interest rate, fee, and cost limits and most if not all of the new state earned wage payday loan laws in both red and blue states.

• Permits high fees without limit, including DailyPay’s “powerful business model” that takes an average of over $300/year from low-wage workers and as much as $1,400 over two years, and protects payday loan apps that increase overdrafts. 

• Eviscerates the Military Lending Act by exempting payday loan apps with such a broad definition that even traditional payday lenders could adapt.

• Permits manipulations that make free options extremely slow, inconvenient, and difficult to access (as shown in this video).

• Leaves oversight to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) at a time when the Administration is dismantling the CFPB.

Urge Your Representative to VOTE NO. Find Your Representative. You can also call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Tell your Representative that at a time when many families are struggling to make ends meet, Congress should not support a bill that makes workers pay to be paid, insulates a business model that drains thin wages, and increases costs for servicemembers.

Sample call script but feel free to personalize: 

Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m from CITY/STATE. I am calling to urge the Representative to vote NO on the Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act. Workers shouldn’t have to pay to be paid, and allowing payday apps to take hundreds of dollars a year from low-income consumers will fuel the affordability crisis. 

Call Your Representative Right Now!