Great Northern Refuses to Pay the Salary Loan Sharks
The railroad tells a Spokane court that an employee's wage assignment is usury, setting up a test case over predatory lending.
Spokane — The Great Northern Railroad Company has commenced a fight on salary loan sharks by refusing to pay an assignment of wages made by an employee. The railroad, in answer to a suit filed by the loan company, declares that the claim is based on usury and demands a ruling from the superior court.
“The railroad, in answer to a suit filed by the loan company, declares that the claim is based on usury and demands a ruling from the superior court.”
Predatory payday lending and wage advances remain a familiar trap for workers, and Washington still caps interest rates to curb usury. The Great Northern case shows employers and courts being drawn into that fight more than a century ago.
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