A wage garnishment is a legal procedure in which payments are made by an employer to pay off a debt. Court-ordered payments by way of garnishments are made by creditors when the debtor has not made payments to repay a loan or mortgage. Garnishments may be had by the government for IRS taxes and federal student loans.
Payroll Garnishments
A court issues payroll garnishments to withhold a certain amount of money from an employees’ paycheck as a court order to pay a debt until the obligation is paid in full.
Creditor garnishments
These are also a private creditor attempt to collect on a debt. If the creditor is unable to collect the debt from the consumer by voluntary payments, then they have the right to sue. If they win, the creditor will be able to serve an income deduction order to your employer with a court order garnishing payments toward the debt. Receipt of the garnishment by the employer obligates the employer to notify you of it, withhold the wage as court-ordered.
Child Support and Alimony
Child support payments can take up to 50% of earnings except when the employee is a dependent child or spouse, then up to 60% can be garnished.
Student Loans
These are subject to 15% of your compensation to repay a debt of student loans. A lawsuit is not required to obtain wage garnishments for failure to repay this type of loan.
Tax Debt
The IRS determines the amount owed to them based on the current standard deduction, dependents claimed, and income reported to them by the employer. To Employers: An employee cannot be terminated, disciplined, or retaliated against for employee garnishment.
Call Massey and Duffy for a free consultation today if you have been mistreated by your employer for a garnishment.