Garnishment - District of Columbia

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

The District of Columbia has several codes which address garnishment of wages.

State

Contact

Questions regarding a wage garnishment order should be directed to the court which issued the order.

Regulations

D. C. Official Code, Division II. Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, Title 16. Particular Actions, Proceedings and Matters, Chapter 5. Attachment and Garnishment, Subchapter III. Attachment and Garnishment of Wages, Etc., §16-584. No discharge from employment for garnishment

No employer shall discharge an employee for the reason that a creditor of the employee has subjected or attempted to subject unpaid earnings of the employee to garnishment or like proceedings directed to the employer for the purpose of paying a judgment.

http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/dccode/

D. C. Official Code, Division II. Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, Title 16. Particular Actions, Proceedings and Matters, Chapter 5. Attachment and Garnishment, Subchapter III. Attachment and Garnishment of Wages, Etc., §16-573. Employer’s duty to withhold and make payments; percentage

(d) Under this section the employer-garnishee shall not withhold or pay over more than 10 per centum of the gross wages payable to the judgment debtor for any pay period ending in any calendar month until the total amount of gross wages paid or payable to the judgment debtor for all pay periods ending in such calendar month equals $200, nor more than 20 per centum of the gross wages in excess of $200 payable to the judgment debtor for any pay period ending in any calendar month until the total amount of gross wages paid or payable to the judgment debtor for all pay periods ending in such calendar month equals $500.

http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/dccode/

Federal

Contact

US Department of Labor

www.dol.gov/general/topic/wages/garnishments

Regulations

Federal law limits the amount of wages that can be garnished, in most cases, to 25 percent of weekly earnings after taxes. If more that one garnishment order exists against an individual, the total amount cannot exceed the maximum set by law. Some government obligations, such as back taxes and child support, always have precedence.

29 CFR Part 870 (15 USC §1671)