A garnishment is a court order to an employer to withhold a sum of money from an employee's earnings for payment of a debt. Nebraska law draws a distinction between garnishments for support obligations and garnishments for other kinds of debts. There are numerous state and federal laws pertaining to garnishment. Where state laws are more restrictive than federal law (i.e., by protecting a greater amount of salary from garnishment), state laws will govern.
For a
Limited Time receive a
FREE HR Report on the "Top 10 Best Practices in HR Management, 2012”. This comprehensive 50 page report covers Healthcare, Recordkeeping, Hiring, Retention, and other compliance issues.
Download Now All garnishments apply to public as well as to private employees.
Nebraska laws on support garnishments are found at NE Rev. Stat. Sec. 42-364.01et seq. The laws on garnishments for other kinds of debts are found at Sec. 25-1001et seq.
Garnishment vs. assignment of wages. Garnishment and assignment of wages are both methods of deducting money from an employee's salary to repay his or her debts. A garnishment is an involuntary procedure that is usually conducted when the employee has not paid his or her debts voluntarily. Assignment of wages is a voluntary procedure in which the employee agrees to the deduction. There is additional information on assignment of wages..
Respond promptly. An employer that is served with a wage garnishment must respond promptly to the notice and any other court papers regarding garnishment. Employers failing to respond to a notice or in any way ignore a garnishment run the very real risk of being held personally liable for the entire judgment.