Are you an employer wondering what wage garnishment is? Then you’ve come across the right article! Today, we will discuss what wage garnishment is, its laws, and how it affects your responsibilities as an employer.
What is Wage Garnishment?
Wage garnishment occurs when an employer receives a court order requesting they send a percentage of an employee’s salary to their creditor. Employers are also responsible for withholding an amount from your paycheck until the debt is paid in full. The percent of your salary being withheld from you will directly go to a creditor, lender, or party who lent you money.
Terms of a Wage Garnishment
Wage garnishment is when an employer takes a small percentage of an employee’s property. Typical wage garnishment cases require employers to withhold a particular amount until their remaining balance is paid. Wage garnishment is taking someone’s property and involves a person’s wages by legal authority.
Before a wage garnishment process starts, the lender and debtee must face each other in court. If you are under a debt collection lawsuit — it is best to find a Judgement and Garnishment Defense Lawyer who can represent you inside a courtroom. A wage garnishment defense attorney will be helpful when establishing a viable debt defense strategy.
A wage garnishment is a court procedure. It happens when a debtor’s employer receives a court order to subtract a particular amount from their employee’s wages. Holding an employee’s wages is to pay a creditor or any lending organization in full directly. Wage garnishments also occur with various debts worldwide.
The party holding an employee’s wages to pay a creditor is known as the garnishee. In some cases, the garnishee can be the direct employer of a worker with existing debts or unpaid balances.
Wage Garnishment Procedure
It can result in wage garnishment when settling a debt collection lawsuit or when a debtor does not respond to a case.
Filing a Wage Garnishment Request
A creditor will begin the entire wage garnishment process by launching a Request for Garnishment of Wages with a court. After filing the request form, a judge or court clerk will sign the request, which becomes the Writ of Garnishment.
Before wage garnishment becomes official, a creditor will pay court fees and additional fees to serve the garnishee. After paying expenses, the creditor can serve the Writ of Garnishment to a debtor’s employer via private process, local delivery, certified mail, or with the help of a sheriff or constable.
Employer Response
The debtor’s employer must respond to the Writ of Garnishment within 30 days. Employers will also disclose if the debtor is employed, their pay rate, or other wage garnishment processes. If the garnishee does not respond to the Writ of Garnishment, they will be held in Contempt of Court. The creditor will receive a default judgment against the garnishee.
Preparing the Wage Garnishment
After processing the Writ of Garnishment, the garnishee is responsible for determining the number of tarnishable wages. The garnishee must also hold a particular amount of an employee’s salary until the Writ of Garnishment is satisfied. If the unpaid balance is completely paid, the court can order the employer/garnishee to stop withholding a person’s wages.
Informing the Employee
The debtor’s employer is the garnishee during a wage garnishment process. When the pay period arrives, the garnishee should inform the employee of the amount of money being withheld and their entire calculation process. The information during a wage garnishment procedure can also be available within an employee’s pay stub.
Law Limits
The garnishee must inform all parties if the employee stops working for them. After 90 days, the garnishment process ends. However, it will resume if the employee is re-employed by their past employer.
Typically, the law limits 25% of an employee’s salary to be withheld by their employer during a wage garnishment process.
Employer Defenses
Any garnishee can oppose a wage garnishment process by filing a motion in court. Employers can assert any objections they might have against the wage garnishment order. The garnishee can also maintain any defenses of their employees.
The employer is not required to withhold properties, not in their possession. They cannot also request their employees to pay them tips directly from their customers.
Statement of Satisfaction
When the entire debt is paid in full, the creditor will file a written statement within 15 days after its completion. It should state that the debt is already satisfied.
Conclusion
Wage garnishment occurs when a court orders an employer to withhold an employee’s salary to pay an existing debt. A wage garnishment process can happen after the creditor files a wage garnishment request in court. If the debt is paid completely, the court can order the garnishee to stop withholding a person’s salary.
