Wages and Hours
Worked: |
Wage Garnishment |
Wage garnishment is a legal procedure in which the court orders a
person's earnings to be withheld by his/her employer for the payment of a debt, such as child support.
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. CPPA is administered and enforced by the Wage
and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration.
Title III also limits the amount
of an employee's 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.
BASIC INFORMATION
- Employment Law Guide -
Wage Garnishment - Describes the
statutes and regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that regulate wage garnishment.
- Filing a complaint - DOL's Wage and Hour Division manages complaints regarding violations of the various laws and regulations it administers. To file a complaint concerning one of these laws, contact your nearest Wage and Hour Division office or call the Department's Toll-Free Wage and Hour HelpLine at 1-866-4-US-WAGE.
FACT SHEETS
-
Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) - Protects employees from discharge by their employers because their
wages have been garnished for any one debt, and limits the amount of an
employee's earnings that may be garnished in any one week.
- Employment Standards Administration (ESA)
Wage and Hour Division
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Room S-3502
Washington, DC 20210
Contact WHD
Tel: 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243)
TTY: 1-877-889-5627
Local Offices
- For questions on other DOL laws,
please call DOL's
Toll-Free Help Line at 1-866-4-USA-DOL. Live assistance is available in English
and Spanish, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Additional service is available in more than 140 languages through a
translation service. Tel: 1-866-4-USA-DOL
TTY: 1-877-889-5627
*Pursuant to the U.S. Department of Labor's Confidentiality Protocol
for Compliance Assistance Inquiries, information provided by a telephone caller
will be kept confidential within the bounds of the law. Compliance assistance
inquiries will not trigger an inspection, audit, investigation, etc.
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