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Training For Arizona Garnishment Law Requirements

What Is A Garnishment?

A wage garnishment is any legal or equitable procedure through which some portion of a person's earnings is required to be withheld by an employer for the payment of a debt.

The six basic types of garnishments are child support, federal, state, or local levies, creditor garnishments, and student loans, with the largest amount of garnishments being for child support.

Employer Guidelines For Handling Garnishments

Employers generally have to notify the debtor in writing that a wage garnishment is about to start before making a garnishment and sending payments to the creditor. The wage garnishment then typically continues until the debts are paid off or otherwise resolved. Employers are required to provide employees with a copy of garnishment paperwork.

With regard to child support garnishments, all states are required to use the "Order/Notice To Withhold Income For Child Support" notice for Child Support. This notice is designed to provide employers with key information so that they do not have to decipher unfamiliar orders/notices from different states. Click here for details on this notice, including steps to process this notice.

Employers should note that they cannot contest the income-withholding order; however, the employer should contact the issuing agency if unable to implement the withholding either because the individual named in the order is not an employee or a withholding is already in place for the child and employee. Additionally, employers should note that states often have varying garnishment rules, so they should be sure to know the payroll wage garnishments rules for the state(s) in which it does business.

Arizona Wage Garnishment Rules

Employers should be aware that there are two general types of garnishments, one for child support and one for creditors (commonly referred to as "levies").

Re child support orders, the maximum amount that can be withheld runs between 50 (if the employee is supporting another spouse and/or children) and 65% (if the employee is not supporting another spouse and/or children and is at least 12 weeks in arrears in making support payments).

Re levies, Arizona applies the "25-30" rule, meaning:

• The "25 Rule"
  The wage garnishment order cannot take more 25% of the employee's "disposable earnings"
• The "30 Rule"
  The wage garnishment order can only take amounts over 30 times the federal minimum wage

Employers in states using the "25-30" rule should note that the wage garnishment cannot exceed the lesser of the two options. Check the table below for the rules for your state.

Arizona employers must begin withholding from wages immediately after garnishment orders are served and must pay the withheld amount no later than the 14th day of each month.

In Arizona, new hires, returning employees, or rehired employees may be required to disclose whether they have an existing child support withholding order, but the employer cannot base any hiring or firing decisions on such information. Additionally, employees cannot be fired because they have a child support withholding order.

Recommended Garnishment Training Courses:

• Garnishments, Child Support Orders, And Other Levies
• Dealing with Subpoenas, Summonses, Garnishments, Tax Levies, Etc.
• Certificate Program For Payroll Specialists
• Paycheck Fundamentals Training & Certification Program