|
Close





Washington Garnishment: What you need to know

A garnishment is an order of a court to an employer to withhold a sum of money from an employee's earnings for payment of a debt. The state of Washington draws a distinction between garnishments for support obligations and garnishments for other kinds of debts.
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
There are numerous state and federal laws pertaining to garnishment. Where state law is more restrictive than federal law (i.e., by protecting a greater amount of salary from garnishment), state law will govern. Specific state laws include WA Rev. Code Sec. 26.23.060et seq. concerning garnishments for family support, and Sec. 6.27.005et seq. concerning garnishments for other kinds of debts.
Family Support. Family support may include child support, alimony or spousal support, and health insurance. Withholding must begin within 7 days from the day the employer receives the order to withhold. The first payment should be deducted from wages due at the time the writ is received, and sent to the Division of Child Support (DCS) within 7 days of the time of notice. If the employer fails to withhold and deliver the funds, it can be held responsible for the entire support debt, plus costs, interest, and attorney's fees. The employer must send an information copy of the notice of payroll deduction to the address of the responsible parent.
Earnings. Earnings for support include wages or salary; commissions and bonuses; periodic payments under pension plans, retirement programs, and insurance policies of any type; disability payments; unemployment payments; gains from capital, labor, or from both combined; and the fair value of nonmonetary compensation received in exchange for personal services. Earnings do not include profit ...

>> Read the rest of this article

More on this topic:

State Requirements

National | Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | District of Columbia | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming |

Washington Garnishment Resources

Garnishment Products

Payroll Webinar Recording
BLR Webinar: "Payroll: How to Legally Handle Tax Levies and Garnishments""
HR Self-Audits Webinar Recording
BLR Webinar: "HR Self-Audits: How to Find (and Fix) the Legal Time Bombs in Your Workplace""
New Year, New Laws, New Employee Handbook Webinar Recording
BLR Webinar: "New Year, New Laws, New Employee Handbook: What to Change and What to Keep in 2013""
Free Special Reports
Get Your FREE HR Management Special Report. Download Any One Of These FREE Special Reports, Instantly!
Featured Special Report
Claim Your Free Copy of Top 10 Best Practices in HR Management for 2012

HR professionals have the opportunity to play a more strategic role in their organizations by keeping up to date with the latest HR innovations--technological, legal, and otherwise.
Download Now!


This special report will discuss how HR managers can anticipate and address some of the most challenging HR issues this year.

Topics covered:
1. Healthcare in 2012
2. FMLA Paid Leave Initiatives
3. Ethics
4. Social Media
5. Environmental Responsibility
6. Workplace Wellness
7. Classifying Employees
8. Retirement of Baby Boomers
9. Identity Theft
10. Communications

Make sure you have the information you need to know about these current HR challenges and how to most effectively manage them in your workplace.

Download Now!