Procedure against the debtor’s salary – Garnishment of wages
A. Impact of a wage garnishment
B. Limits on wage garnishment
If the debtor is working, he may be able to intercept a portion of his wages to satisfy his judgment. This process is known as wage garnishment. You can garnish wages relatively quickly and inexpensively if:
- Judgment debtor works as an employee (not as an independent contractor)
- The judgment debtor’s work produces a payment above the poverty line.
- Other wage garnishments are not yet in effect (unless your wage garnishment is for child or spousal support)
- The debtor does not quit work, dispute wage garnishment, or file for bankruptcy.
A wage garnishment requires little effort on your part. You give the collection officer information about where the judgment debtor works, provide a Writ of Execution and copies, and pay a modest fee. Then just wait; the collection officer collects the money from the employer and gives it to you. You can always lift the wage garnishment if you and the judgment debtor agree to voluntarily pay the judgment.
A wage rate can generally provide you with about 25% of the judgment debtor’s disposable income. Naturally, if some or all of the debtor’s income is found to be exempt, he will actually receive less.
Special laws govern child or spousal support wage garnishments. These liens can reach up to 50% of the judgment debtor’s disposable income and take precedence. Therefore, if a non-support lien is already in effect, you can supplant that lien if your judgment is for support and you receive up to 60% of the debtor’s salary.
Garnishment of spouses’ wages: If you have a judgment against someone who is married, you need a court order to garnish the spouse’s wages (CCP § 706.109). Naturally, this restriction does not apply if both spouses are named debtors in the court ruling.
A. Impact of a wage garnishment
Your power to garnish a court debtor’s wages is often a strong impetus for the debtor to cancel their judgment, as you may want to avoid the embarrassment and inconvenience of having your wages interfered with. Additionally, despite a federal law that prohibits employers from firing employees for wage garnishments that result from a single judgment, most employees rightly believe that a garnishment will not earn them points with their bosses.
And they can be fired for multiple wage garnishments from different sentences. Therefore, even the most uncooperative debtor may be willing to pay voluntarily if faced with the prospect of a wage garnishment.
But a wage garnishment could push a debtor out of their job or bankrupt a debtor. The loss of part of a paycheck, coupled with the embarrassment of an employer knowing about your financial problems, can cause the debtor to seek a quick fix to ease the pressure. If you choose to garnish wages, remember that you often walk a fine line between making great progress in collecting your judgment and closing the ability to collect.
The debtor probably won’t go bankrupt or quit his job if the debtor has a lot at stake. This would probably be true for a debtor who is a well-established member of the community without a long list of other debts, an employee of an established corporate business in which he has significant property, or a real property owner in which he has a significant equity.
B. Limits on wage garnishments
Federal debtor protection laws limit the amount of anyone’s wages that you can take at any given time. Unless your judgment is for child or spousal support, you can garnish up to 25% of the debtor’s share of the net salary, beyond a minimum.
If your judgment is for child or spousal support, you have the right to garnish at least 50% of the judgment debtor’s dispositional salary above the federal minimum. If the debtor does not currently support a child or spouse, it may be possible to obtain up to 65% of the debtor’s salary per judgment taken as support (CCP § 706.052 (c)).
Here are some possible roadblocks in the wage garnishment process:
Prior garnishment by other creditors: You cannot garnish wages if they are already garnished by another creditor, unless you are an ex-spouse requesting alimony or child support payments. Typically, if your garnishment is second in line, the employer will reject it and you will have to reapply when the previous creditor’s garnishment ends. Keep in mind that an employee can be fired for two separate wage garnishments.
California exemption law: The debtor has the legal right to show that the part of his salary that is above the federal minimum should be exempt because it is necessary for his own support or the support of a spouse or children. However, the debtor cannot qualify for this type of exemption if the judgment itself arises from a debt incurred for the necessities of life.
Federal Workers: Until February 1994, the wages of federal employees (except those of the Postal Service and the Federal Housing Administration) or the military could not be garnished. You can now garnish federal workers’ wages (USC §5520a)
Under interim federal regulations governing the federal garnishment process, you can have the federal agency employer personally serve your Income Withholding Order or request an acknowledgment of receipt by certified or registered mail. The service must be performed at the official designated by the agency to accept the service; call the agency and ask. The agency itself does not need to be named in the order. You must properly identify the federal worker whose wages are garnished; otherwise, the Earnings Withholding Order will be returned to the court that issued it.
The regulations suggest that the following information be provided about the debtor:
- Full name
- Date of birth
- Employment or social security number
- Component of the agency for which the debtor works
- Location of duty station or official workplace
- Home address.
The agency is supposed to respond to the embargo in 30 days. The side dish is effective from the date it is served, but is subject to all other side dishes served before the date. Garnishment of child and spousal support always has the highest priority.
The amount that can be garnished is based on the federal worker’s salary after subtracting the following deductions:
- Mandatory deductions
- Deductions for amounts owed to the federal government
- Tax withheld
- Health insurance premiums
- Normal retirement contributions
- Normal life insurance premiums
If the amount remaining after all these deductions is $ 127.50 per week or less, no garnishment will be made.
Note from the military services: Although the provisional regulation described above for federal employees covers civilian employees of military employers, it does not cover actual members of the military. To garnish the salary of a member of the armed forces, you will need to ask the particular service about their specific procedures.
Seamen / Longshoremen Exemption: The salary of sailors, stevedores or dock workers cannot be garnished.
Waiver of benefits and pensions: Unless your judgment is for child or spousal support, you cannot garnish unemployment benefits, workers’ compensation claims or awards, relocation benefits, health or disability insurance benefits, or most of retirement plans.
What does all of this mean to you, the receivership? Simply that the debtor can challenge his garnishment. Depending on the debtor’s status, the type of income, and the amount of your payment, this may or may not be a problem for you, but the fact that there are obstacles means that many judgment creditors find it in your best interest. contact debtors at least once to try to reach an agreement before initiating a wage garnishment.
The information and documents used in this article are only examples. All substantive information should be tailored to your particular case. THERE IS NO INTENTION TO PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE IN THIS ARTICLE. TREATING THE INFORMATION AS LEGAL ADVICE COULD HAVE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES.
COLLECTION AGENCY, COLLECTION OF JUDGMENTS