What are the restrictions on wage garnishment?
The amount of pay subject to garnishment is based on an employee’s “disposable earnings” which is the amount left after legally required deductions have been made for federal, state, and local taxes, Social Security, unemployment insurance, and State employee retire- ment systems. Other deductions, such as those for union dues, health and life insurance, contributions to charitable causes, voluntary wage assignments, purchases of savings bonds, and payments to employers for payroll advances or purchases of merchandise, are not required by law and may not be subtracted from gross earnings when calculating the amount of disposable earnings. The law sets the maximum amount which may be garnished in any workweek or pay period, regardless of the number of garnishment orders received by the employer. The amount may not exceed the lesser of two figures: 25 percent of the employee’s disposable earnings, or the amount by which an employee’s disposable earnings for the workweek are greater than
