Know Your Rights: How to Stop Illegal Wage Garnishment
Understand garnishment protections under federal and state law and learn how to challenge improper deductions.
Wage garnishment occurs when a court orders your employer to withhold a portion of your earnings to pay a debt. While garnishment is a legal collection tool, there are significant federal and state protections that limit how much can be taken and establish procedures that must be followed. Many garnishments are improperly executed, giving consumers grounds to challenge them.
Federal and State Protections
Federal law limits garnishment for consumer debts to 25 percent of your disposable earnings or the amount by which your weekly earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is less. Many states impose even lower limits. Some income sources are completely exempt from garnishment, including Social Security, veterans' benefits, disability payments, and certain retirement funds. If your income falls below the protected threshold, you may be able to claim an exemption that eliminates or reduces the garnishment.
Before wages can be garnished, the creditor must obtain a court judgment, and you must be properly served with notice and given an opportunity to respond. If you were never properly notified of the lawsuit, the judgment may be voidable. If the debt is time-barred by the statute of limitations, the judgment may be invalid. An attorney specializing in consumer rights can review your garnishment for procedural errors, calculate whether the correct amount is being withheld, and file motions to reduce or eliminate the garnishment if your rights have been violated.