Training For Connecticut Garnishment Law Requirements

Training For Connecticut 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.

Connecticut Garnishment Law Requirements

Connecticut employers that receive a wage execution must comply with Connecticut wage-garnishment requirements as well as applicable federal law. Connecticut generally limits ordinary wage executions to the lesser of 25% of an employee's disposable earnings for the week or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 40 times the higher of the federal or Connecticut minimum hourly wage. Special rules apply to family support, taxes, bankruptcy, and other priority obligations.

Connecticut Wage Garnishment Overview

In Connecticut, a wage execution generally follows the entry of a money judgment. The judgment creditor may obtain a wage execution directing a proper officer to levy against the judgment debtor's earnings. The execution is then served on the employer, which becomes responsible for withholding the nonexempt portion of the employee's earnings.

Connecticut General Statutes § 52-361a governs wage executions against earnings. Connecticut's Judicial Branch provides a Wage Execution form, JD-CV-3, together with an Exemption and Modification Claim Form, JD-CV-3a, for this process.

Connecticut Wage Garnishment Limits

For an ordinary wage execution, Connecticut law limits the maximum amount that may be withheld from an employee's disposable earnings to the lesser of:

• 25% of the employee's disposable earnings for the applicable week; or
• The amount by which the employee's disposable earnings for the week exceed 40 times the higher of the federal minimum hourly wage or the Connecticut minimum fair wage in effect when the earnings are payable.

Connecticut's current wage-execution form reflects this two-part calculation. The employer must calculate both amounts and withhold the lesser amount, unless a court has entered a lower limitation.

Disposable Earnings

For Connecticut wage-execution purposes, disposable earnings are the portion of an individual's earnings remaining after deductions for amounts that Connecticut law permits to be excluded from the calculation.

The Connecticut Judicial Branch wage-execution form identifies allowable deductions including federal income tax, federal employment taxes, normal retirement contributions, union dues and initiation fees, group life insurance premiums, health insurance premiums, and federal tax levies.

Employers should calculate disposable earnings using the definition applicable to the specific wage execution rather than applying the garnishment percentage directly to gross wages.

Twenty-Day Waiting Period

A Connecticut wage execution is automatically stayed for 20 days after it is served on the employer. The employer must not begin withholding the employee's wages during this period.

After the 20-day period expires, the employer generally begins withholding from the first wages payable after the stay ends, unless the employer receives notice that the employee has filed a timely claim of exemption or modification with the court.

If an exemption or modification claim is filed within the applicable 20-day period, wages subject to the claim generally may not be withheld until the court determines the employee's rights.

Connecticut Garnishment Process and Employer Response

When a wage execution is served, the employer must review the documents and follow the instructions provided by the Connecticut Judicial Branch. The employer must provide the required documents to the employee immediately and complete the employer portions of the applicable forms.

Connecticut's wage-execution materials require the employer to immediately deliver or mail copies of the wage execution and related notice to the judgment debtor. The employer must then comply with the execution after the statutory 20-day stay expires, unless the court directs otherwise.

Employers should therefore:

• Record the date the wage execution was served on the employer.
• Review the wage execution and accompanying forms immediately.
• Verify whether the named judgment debtor is an employee.
• Immediately provide the employee with the required copies and notices.
• Observe the mandatory 20-day stay before beginning withholding.
• Determine the employee's weekly disposable earnings.
• Calculate both Connecticut wage-execution limits.
• Withhold the lesser amount, subject to any court-ordered limitation.
• Remit the withheld funds as required by the wage execution.
• Continue withholding until the execution is satisfied, modified, set aside, or otherwise terminated.
• Maintain records of the wage execution, calculations, payments, and related correspondence.

Priority of Wage Executions

Connecticut law provides that only one execution issued under General Statutes § 52-361a is generally satisfied at a time. When an employer receives multiple ordinary wage executions against the same employee, executions are satisfied in the order in which they are served on the employer.

Family support income withholding and voluntary wage deductions for family support have priority over ordinary wage executions. Employers should therefore review existing withholding orders before processing a new Connecticut wage execution.

A subsequent ordinary wage execution generally becomes effective after the prior execution has been satisfied or otherwise terminated, subject to the requirements of Connecticut law.

Employee Exemption and Modification Claims

Connecticut employees may have the right to claim that some or all of their earnings are exempt from execution or to request that the amount withheld be reduced.

The Connecticut Judicial Branch provides an Exemption and Modification Claim Form, JD-CV-3a. The employee may use this form to claim an exemption or request a modification based on reasonable cause.

If the claim is received by the court within 20 days after the wage execution is served on the employer, the employer generally must not begin withholding the employee's earnings until the court determines the claim.

Employers should not independently determine whether an employee qualifies for an exemption or modification. Payroll should follow the wage execution and any subsequent instructions or orders issued by the court.

Public Assistance and Other Exempt Earnings

Connecticut law provides exemptions for certain types of earnings. For example, wages earned by a person receiving public assistance under an incentive earnings or similar program are exempt from execution under Connecticut General Statutes § 52-352b.

Other statutory exemptions may apply depending on the nature and source of the employee's earnings. Employers should review the specific wage execution and any exemption determination issued by the court.

Family Support and Child Support Garnishments

Family support income withholding is treated differently from an ordinary judgment-creditor wage execution. Connecticut's wage-execution materials state that income withholdings and voluntary wage deductions for family support must be paid before an ordinary execution under § 52-361a.

Federal law also establishes special limits for child support and spousal support withholding. Depending on the employee's circumstances, federal law generally permits withholding of up to 50% or 60% of disposable earnings, with an additional 5 percentage points potentially available when the support obligation is more than 12 weeks in arrears.

Employers processing child support or other family-support withholding orders should follow the specific order and apply all applicable Connecticut and federal requirements rather than using the ordinary 25% wage-execution calculation.

Tax Levies and Bankruptcy

Federal and state tax levies, bankruptcy-related orders, and certain other collection proceedings may be subject to rules that differ from an ordinary Connecticut wage execution.

Employers should carefully review the instructions accompanying federal tax levies, Connecticut tax collection orders, bankruptcy orders, and other specialized withholding documents before applying the ordinary wage-execution calculation.

Federal Garnishment Limits Still Apply

Connecticut employers must comply with applicable federal garnishment protections in addition to Connecticut law. The federal Consumer Credit Protection Act generally limits ordinary consumer-debt garnishments to the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage.

Connecticut's ordinary wage-execution formula uses 40 times the higher of the federal minimum wage or Connecticut's minimum fair wage. Because Connecticut's formula can provide greater protection than the federal minimum standard, employers should perform the Connecticut calculation as required by the wage execution while also considering any applicable federal requirements.

Different federal limits apply to child support, certain tax obligations, bankruptcy, and other specified debts. Employers should identify the type of obligation before determining the amount that may legally be withheld.

Protection Against Employee Discipline or Discharge

Connecticut law prohibits an employer from disciplining, suspending, or discharging an employee because a wage execution has been served on the employer.

Connecticut's official wage-execution instructions provide an exception allowing disciplinary measures when an employer is served with more than seven wage executions against the employee's wages in a calendar year.

Employers should not retaliate against an employee or alter the employee's compensation or pay schedule to avoid complying with a wage execution.

Failure to Comply With a Wage Execution

An employer has a legal duty to make deductions from an employee's wages and pay over the withheld amounts as required by the wage execution. Failure to comply can result in legal action against the employer.

Connecticut's official wage-execution instructions state that an employer found in contempt of the court order may be held liable to the judgment creditor for wages that the employer failed to withhold.

When to Stop Withholding

An employer should continue withholding while the wage execution remains in effect. The execution generally continues until the judgment is satisfied or the execution is modified or set aside by the court.

Employers should not stop withholding merely because an employee states that the debt has been paid. Payroll should obtain appropriate written instructions or documentation from the court or other authorized source before terminating a wage execution.

Important Employer Compliance Point

A Connecticut wage execution should not be treated as a simple instruction to withhold a fixed percentage of an employee's paycheck. Payroll must observe the mandatory 20-day waiting period, provide the employee with the required documents, calculate disposable earnings, apply both Connecticut withholding tests, consider the priority of existing support orders and wage executions, and remit withheld funds according to the execution.

For an ordinary Connecticut wage execution, the maximum withholding is generally the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 40 times the higher of the federal or Connecticut minimum hourly wage. A court may order a lower withholding amount following an employee's claim for modification.

Connecticut Garnishment Forms

Connecticut employers processing wage executions may receive the Wage Execution form JD-CV-3 and the Exemption and Modification Claim Form JD-CV-3a. The employer is responsible for completing the applicable employer sections and immediately providing required documents to the employee.

Employers should use the current Connecticut Judicial Branch forms and follow the instructions accompanying the specific wage execution served on the employer.