Andrew Kushner ‌

Andrew Kushner

Senior Policy Counsel

Andrew Kushner is a senior policy counsel on CRL’s state policy team. Working out of the Oakland office, he advises allies and lawmakers in California and other states about ending abusive lending practices at the state level.

Prior to joining CRL, Andrew was an associate at a public interest law firm in San Francisco, where he represented unions, workers, non-profit groups, and cities on a variety of issues related to economic justice. Before that, Andrew clerked for the Honorable Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, of the Supreme Court of California, and for the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Andrew is a graduate of Pomona College and Stanford Law School. In his spare time, he enjoys riding his bike and hiking with his wife and dog.

Research & Policy

Paying to be Paid: Consumer Protections Needed for Earned Wage Advances and Other Fintech Cash Advances

Paying to be Paid: Consumer Protections Needed for Earned Wage Advances and Other Fintech Cash Advances

Among the hottest consumer finance topics in recent years is the proliferation of online lenders offering fintech cash advances, including the subset of those lenders who offer earned wage advances (EWA). These are very short-term loans of small dollar amounts that users can access through a smartphone app. Lenders that offer these products strenuously attempt to avoid being regulated like...
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Research
Payday and Other Small Dollar Loans

Brief of Amici Curiae CRL and National Consumer Law Center in Support of Defendants Appellants and for Reversal NAIB v. Weiser

Brief of Amici Curiae CRL and National Consumer Law Center in Support of Defendants Appellants and for Reversal NAIB v. Weiser

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) submitted an amicus brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit to correct the lower court’s misinterpretation of a Colorado law, and the federal law on which it is based, in order to prohibit out-of-state banks from helping lenders charge Colorado borrowers interest rates...
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Amicus Brief
Payday and Other Small Dollar Loans

Groups Urge DFPI to Prevent Consumer Harm in the Market for Income-Based Advances

Groups Urge DFPI to Prevent Consumer Harm in the Market for Income-Based Advances

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) should restore cost limits for earned wage advances and other fintech cash advances under proposed regulations rather than allow a temporary registration regime with no cost limits for up to four years, the Center for Responsible Lending, Consumer Federation of California, National Consumer Law Center, and Office of Kat Taylor said...
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Comment Letter
Payday and Other Small Dollar Loans

Earned Wage Advance is Credit (In Focus Series #3)

Earned Wage Advance is Credit (In Focus Series #3)

Earned Wage Advance (EWA) providers market a means for workers to access their wages before payday, usually for a fee. In reality, there are two very different types of products that are marketed as EWA, one of which—sometimes called “faux EWA”— is simply a payday loan dressed up in “fintech” marketing. While low-wage workers can benefit from true EWA programs...
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Policy & Legislation
Payday and Other Small Dollar Loans