How to respond to a wage garnishment (even if it looks illegitimate)

Q         We received a wage garnishment notice for an employee who has been laid off temporarily, but the documents don’t look legitimate. What do we look for to confirm if this is a legitimate wage garnishment we need to follow?

A   When a court enters a judgment against a person who doesn’t voluntarily pay the amount ordered, the holder of the judgment has a few options to enforce it, one of which is wage garnishment. Under a wage garnishment, the employer must pay a percentage of the employee’s wages directly to the judgment creditor.

There is a legal process that leads up to a garnishment from the employer’s perspective. The employer receives a writ of garnishment issued by a court, which would include the names of the plaintiff and defendant, along with the name of the court and case number. If there’s any question whether the writ is legitimate, you can call the clerk of the court that issued it or look up the case on the court’s website and confirm. Once you confirm the garnishment is legitimate, you should fill out the “Answer by Garnishee” form that should be sent to you with the writ.

The answer requires the employer to respond to a few questions, including whether the defendant/judgment-debtor is an employee. It also contains a simple worksheet the employer must fill out to determine the amount of wages that are garnished. Be sure to return it by the deadline because there could be consequences.