Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 690.
Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act
This bill addresses the regulation of earned wage access products. Earned wage access products provide consumers with access to their earned wages before their scheduled pay day.
The bill specifies that earned wage access products are not subject to regulation under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). TILA requires consumer credit products to disclose borrowing costs, finance charges, and the total cost of the loan.
Under the bill, providers of earned wage access products
must provide an alternative no-cost option for receiving earned wages if the provider offers an option to receive earned wages for a fee;
are prohibited from bringing civil suits or from pursuing collection to compel repayment, except in cases of fraud; and
must reimburse the consumer for overdraft fees or penalties imposed on a consumer by their depository institution if incurred because of an error by the provider.
Providers must inform consumers of their rights under an agreement for an earned wage access product and disclose all associated fees before the consumer enters into an agreement. Providers must also inform consumers how to obtain earned wages without paying a fee or tip in a clear and conspicuous manner.
Providers are prohibited from sharing fees or tips with the consumer’s employer. The bill also limits the form of payment providers may accept from consumers and limits certain additional fees for failure to pay.
A provider may not set a default tip at an amount greater than $0 for such services.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House" stage on September 1, 2026. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 1, 2026: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 690.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Bryan Steil (R-WI) introduced it on June 18, 2026. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 18, 2026, 130 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 55 days ago, on September 1, 2026.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers