About Garnishments

A garnishment or wage attachment is a legal procedure through which the earnings of an employee are required, by court order, to be withheld by an employer for the payment of a debt. The six basic types of garnishments are child support, federal, state, or local levies, creditor garnishments, and student loans. Garnishments are an “involuntary deduction“. An involuntary deduction is one in which the request for the deduction is made by someone other than the employee, such as a judge, federal agency, or state entity. With regard to garnishments and wage attachments, the employer must comply with all federal and state regulations or face severe penalties and other liabilities. It is not a “courtesy“ service the employer does, but a legal responsibility. In practice, the proper handling of garnishments is one of the most difficult and complex issues affecting the Payroll Department. For an HR Generalist, ensuring human resources compliance means following labor law and FLSA standards for withholdings. For instance, involuntary deductions have a priority sequence that must be followed, whereas voluntary deductions such as for insurance or retirement plans are last in priority when it comes to deductions from the employee's paycheck. It is the employer's choice, however, in which order to take voluntary benefits deductions. For example, the employer could take health insurance premiums before taking a credit union deduction. Note that it is possible for an individual to have more than one garnishment request sent to his or her employer. In such cases, garnishments should be handled in the following priority order:

1. Child Support
2. Federal tax levy *
3. State tax levy
4. Local levy
5. Creditor

Note: If a federal tax levy is in place for an employee before a child support withholding order for the same employee, under the Internal Revenue Rules, the tax levy has priority.