State Wage Garnishment

The specific federal law that regulates wage garnishment is Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act. This Act sets limits to the amount of an employee's earnings that can be garnished. It protects an employee from dismissal if his or her pay is garnished for a single debt. However, it offers no protection in the case of second or subsequent debts. The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor’s Employment Standards Administration administers this law. It protects everyone receiving personal earnings. This includes people receiving wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, or income including earnings from a pension or retirement program.

State wage garnishment laws do not pertain to voluntary wage assignments, which are situations wherein workers permit their employers to turn over some specified amount of their earnings to a creditor or creditors. State wage garnishment laws are effective in all 50 states, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and all U.S. territories and possessions.

The extent to which an employee’s wage is subject to garnishment derives from that employee’s disposable earnings. This is the amount left after legally required deductions for federal, state, and local taxes, Social Security, unemployment insurance, and State employee retirement systems. However, deductions such as union dues, health and life insurance, contributions to charitable causes, voluntary wage assignments, purchases of savings bonds, and payments to employers for payroll advances or purchases of merchandise cannot be subtracted from gross earnings when calculating

State wage garnishment laws determine the extent to which an employee’s wage may be garnished in any workweek or pay period. This does not depend on the number of garnishment orders received by the employer. The amount can be 25% of the employee’s disposable earnings, or the amount by which an employee’s disposable earnings for the workweek are greater than 30 times the minimum wage under federal Law.

State wage garnishment laws apply specific restrictions to court orders for child support or alimony, which cannot exceed 50% of a worker’s disposable earnings if the worker is supporting another spouse or child. The amount can be as high as 60% for a worker who is not supporting another spouse or child. State wage garnishment laws allow an additional wage garnishment of 5% for support payments more than 12 weeks in arrears.

There are exceptions to state wage garnishment laws. For instance, they do not apply to bankruptcy court orders and debts due for federal or state taxes. Sometimes, a state’s wage garnishment law is different from the federal law. In such cases, the law that dictates the lesser amount for garnishment is observable. There can be a lot of confusion on different state and federal wage garnishment laws and individuals can contact the nearest office of the Wage and Hour Division for clarifications. These offices are listed in most telephone directories, under the category of U.S. Government, Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration.