Proposed LC 4651 amendment allows TD payments by debit card.

​All California employers would be allowed to pay temporary disability benefits by debit card, under a recently amended bill.

Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, on Wednesday amended Senate Bill 880 to expand the proposed debit card pilot program that originally would have included only State Compensation Insurance Fund.

The amended SB 880 would allow any employer in California to offer temporary disability benefits on a prepaid debit card starting Jan. 1 and continuing until Jan. 1, 2023.

Injured workers would have to opt in and request in writing to receive benefits on a card. The bill would also require that workers be able to withdraw the entire balance on the card in a single transaction without incurring fees and have reasonable access to “in-network” automatic teller machines.

The Assembly Insurance Committee is scheduled to hear testimony on the bill at 9 a.m. Wednesday in room 127 of the Capitol.