What is Garnishment?
Wage garnishments are payments that are deducted from an employee’s check as a result of a court order. These payments can range in amount although they are usually limited by the amount of disposable income that the employee makes. Garnishments may be taken for any type of debt but common examples of debt that result in garnishments include,
Child Support , Credit Card , and Taxes.
Garnishments are taken as part of the payroll process. When processing payroll, sometimes there is not enough money in the employee’s net pay to satisfy all of the garnishments. In such a case, the correct order to take a garnishment must be satisfied. For example, in a case with federal tax, local tax, and credit card garnishments, the first garnishment taken would the federal tax garnishments, then the local tax garnishments, and finally, garnishments for the credit card.
Rules regarding garnishments covered by Title III (US)…
Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) prohibits an employer from discharging an employee whose earnings have been subject to garnishment for any one debt, regardless of the number of levies made or proceedings brought to collect it.
Title III protects employees from being discharged by their employers because their wages have been garnished for any one debt and limits the amount of employees’ earnings that may be garnished in any one week. It does not, however, protect an employee from discharge if the employee’s earnings have been subject to garnishment for a second or subsequent debts.
Title III applies to all individuals who receive personal earnings and to their employers. Personal earnings include wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, and income from a pension or retirement program, but does not ordinarily include tips.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
www.dol.gov