Wage Garnishment Compliance Flashcards
7 cards from real CPM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Wage Garnishment Compliance flashcards as text
An employee earning $600/week in disposable income has a child support withholding order for $250/week. The maximum garnishment limit for support is 50% (no arrears, supporting another family). Can the employer comply with the order?
Answer: Yes, because $250 is within the 50% support garnishment limit ($300)
50% of $600 = $300, and the $250 order is below that cap, so full withholding of $250 is lawful.
Under Title III of the CCPA, the maximum percentage of disposable earnings withheld for child support rises to 60% under which condition?
Answer: The employee is not supporting a current spouse or dependent child
The limit increases from 50% to 60% when the employee is not supporting a current spouse or dependent child other than the one covered by the order.
The '12-week arrears add-on' rule under CCPA child support garnishment allows an additional 5% to be withheld when:
Answer: The support arrearage is 12 or more weeks overdue
An additional 5% may be withheld (making the ceiling 55% or 65%) when the employee is 12 or more weeks in arrears on child support payments.
A payroll manager receives a creditor garnishment order from a state that does not permit wage garnishment for consumer debts. How should the employer respond?
Answer: Decline to honor the garnishment because the state law prohibits it
Several states (e.g., Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina) prohibit most private creditor wage garnishments; the employer must follow applicable state law where it is more protective.
When an employer receives two creditor garnishment orders simultaneously, in what order should they generally be processed?
Answer: In the order received (first-in, first-served)
For creditor garnishments of equal priority type, the general rule is first-in-time, first-in-right — honor the order received first until satisfied.
Which document must accompany most state court creditor garnishment orders served on an employer?
Answer: Writ of Garnishment or similar court order
A Writ of Garnishment (or equivalent court-issued order) is required documentation before an employer is legally obligated to withhold for a creditor.
After a garnishment order is fully satisfied, what must the employer do?
Answer: Immediately cease withholding and notify the employee
Once the debt is paid in full and the garnishment is satisfied, the employer must stop all withholding and should inform the employee that the order has been fulfilled.