It's her inconvenience vs money he relies on to live.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease and this is the sort of thing that might make Karen suggest to her boss that they accept PDF files.

>might make Karen suggest to her boss that they accept PDF files.

I'm not sure what state or country this was written in, but requiring physical copies or a fax is very likely a legal requirement.

And unless enough bureaucrats complain to their boss, that law will never change. Regulations don't get handed down from the gods or something, they can be changed if enough people want it. There are plenty of countries these days where a PDF is enough.