Rules for Wage Garnishment

The process for wage garnishment occurs when a part or complete wages of a defaulter are directed to the creditor, by the employer. This is a provision of the government in the interest of the creditors, who are not paid their dues on time by the debtor. They can directly approach the concerned employer, who is liable to direct a part or complete pay-check of the indebted employee to the creditor. Wage garnishment is a part of the broad framework of the garnishment procedure, characterized by three party involvement. Garnishment is a legal proceeding, wherein the court allows or orders the confiscation of a debtor's personal property to pay for his or her liabilities. When this confiscation is in the form of deductions from the wages of the defaulter, the process is called wage garnishment.

Provisions

The broad set of guidelines ensuring a proper deal with the wage garnishment proceedings include the following important points.

• If an employee quits the job, the concerned employer is no longer liable to furnish the garnishment amount.
• The special allotments of an employee such as the social security benefits, workers' compensation, retirement benefits, insurance or health and accident benefits and unemployment insurance cover, do not come under garnishing deductions.
• Any action on the employees, on account of their garnishment liabilities is illegal and may initiate action against the employer, by the related authority.
• The provisions of the law must be properly assessed by all the concerned parties, with respect to employee rights, compliance issues, associated penalties or sanctions and the knowledge of local, state and federal law. Before any action by any party, one must ensure adherence of its rules and procedures, and hence avoid unnecessary trouble.

Summary of the Rules

Wage garnishment rules and procedures are set up by the Federal government for obtaining a feasible solution, protecting the interests of the creditor (person or party that seeks), the debtor (employee) and the garnishee (the employer). Although, the detailed clauses under which it takes place, is separate for each state, but the guiding framework is federal. Therefore, the amount of money to be garnished from a debtor's account varies for each state. In America, a common set of reasons for which wage garnishment is allowed are tax issues, student loans, child support, alimony and bankruptcy.

In order to initiate a wage garnishing procedure, the creditor has to and will notify the garnishee, through a wage garnishing order, a letter of intimation, the associated worksheet and a form for wage garnishing. The amount to be garnished is the responsibility of the garnishee, in accordance with the law of the land. The employer has to exercise proper employee management protocol and also abide by the legal duty, while furnishing the amount to the creditor. A slight mistake, and he can be under a burden of the legal issues or draw flak from either the employee or the creditor.

The prioritizing of the garnishment is also the responsibility of the garnishee in case of multiple creditor payments. Under certain rules, the garnishee is assured a reimbursement for the administrative garnishing costs, incurred in conducting the procedure. The creditor has to notify the garnishee about recovery of full payment, again through proper channel, which includes a 'notice for the termination of wage' order, under the garnishment law. This is an order claiming settlement of the deal and ending of the garnishing process.

Thus, extreme caution and abiding by the law is absolutely mandatory, for wage garnishment.