Garnishments: Understanding orders to withhold wages

During tax season, some people may be excited by the prospect of receiving refund checks from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or their state’s respective Department of Revenue. For some, those expected payouts may never materialize if there are orders allowing that money to be surrendered to repay things like back taxes or owed child support or to satisfy other debts. When individuals owe money, there are means by which a creditor can also seek to garnish wages until the debt is satisfied. In such cases, employers may be drawn into this financial foray. Here are some things employers should know about garnishments.

What is a garnishment?

Generally, a garnishment is an order requiring an employer to withhold a sum of money from an employee’s pay. Depending on the type of garnishment, the withheld wages may be directed to the body that issued the order, a third-party entity, or the creditor itself. 

The garnishment requires those wages to be withheld until there’s an order revoking the garnishment or the debt has been satisfied in its entirety.

What laws govern wage garnishments?