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Summary of differences between federal and state regulations
The state of Vermont has several statutes which address garnishment of wages.
State
Contact
Questions regarding a wage garnishment order should be directed to the court which issued the order.
Regulations
12 V.S.A. §3170, Vermont Rule of Civil Procedure 4.2
The state of Vermont exempts 75% of disposable earnings, or 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is greater (or if a consumer credit transaction, 85% of disposable earnings or 40 times the minimum wage, whichever is greater.)
There is an extensive, but no exhaustive list, of other income which is exempt, including Social Security and Supplemental Security Income, Veteran’s Benefits, unemployment compensation and pension benefits, workers’ compensation, and so on.
12 V.S.A. §3171. Service of order; liability of trustee.
(b) Any employer who fails to honor the order of the court shall be liable to the judgment creditor in the amounts that employer has failed to withhold and deliver together with any costs, interest and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred in their collection. The judgment debtor shall have no additional liability for those costs, interest or attorneys' fees.
12 V.S.A. §3172. Employee protected.
No employee may be discharged from employment on account of trustee process issued to an employer against earnings. Discharge of an employee from employment within sixty days of service of a trustee process summons upon an employer shall be rebuttably presumed to be on account of the issuance of trustee process. Any employee discharge in violation of this section may sue in superior court for reinstatement of employment, back wages and damages and, if that employee prevails, the court shall award costs and may award reasonable attorney’s fees to the employee.
15 V.S.A. §787. Employer’s responsibility; compensation.
(a) Upon receipt of notice of wage withholding under this chapter or under a similar law of another state, an employer shall:
(a)(1) withhold from the wages paid to the obligor the periodic support amount specified in the order for each wage period;
(a)(2) within seven working days after wages are withheld, forward the withheld wages to the registry and specify the date the support was withheld from wages;
(a)(3) retain a record of all withheld wages;
(a)(4) cease withholding wages upon notice from the court or the registry; and
(a)(5) notify the registry within 10 days of the date the obligor’s employment is terminated.
15 V.S.A. §787. Employer’s responsibility; compensation.
(b) In addition to the amounts withheld pursuant to this subchapter, the employer may retain not more than $5.00 per month from the obligor's wages as compensation for administrative costs incurred.
Any employer who fails to withhold wages pursuant to a wage withholding order within 10 working days of receiving actual notice or upon the next payment of wages to the obligor, whichever is later, shall be liable to the obligee in the amount of the wages required to be withheld.
15 V.S.A. §790. Employer’s protected; penalty.
(a) No employee may be discharged from employment or subjected to disciplinary action on account of a wage withholding order issued to an employer against earnings. Any employee discharged or subjected to disciplinary action in violation of this section may bring an action in superior court for reinstatement of employment, back wages and damages and, if that employee prevails, the court shall award costs and may award reasonable attorney's fees to the employee
Federal
Contact
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.