Wage garnishments are court-ordered deductions withdrawn from employee pay to satisfy legal obligations or debts. In New York, income execution laws are designed to limit how much creditors can take from a debtor’s wages. These laws provide debtors with additional protections to federal laws. Creditors who have sued and received a money judgment in New York may collect up to 10% of debtors’ gross wages. Certain debt types allow creditors to take over 10% without filing a lawsuit.
Understanding wage garnishments
Income execution is the legal name for the court or government agency order requiring an employer to withhold an amount specified for the benefit of a creditor. If the debt is from defaulted student loans, unpaid income taxes or court-ordered child support and arrears, creditors can have employee wages garnished without a court order. Otherwise, a court judgment stating the debtor owes the creditor is required for an income execution order.
More on NY wage garnishments
While federal law is designed to ensure that the amount deducted for these wage & hour issues leave debtors with enough to cover living expenses, New York slightly expands the limits. State laws allow creditors to garnish up to 10% of debtors’ gross wages or 25% of the debtor’s ‘disposable to the extent that it extends to 30% of the minimum wage, whichever is lesser. The wages cannot be garnished if the minimum wage is at least 30 times greater than the debtor’s disposable income.
Disposable earnings may be described as wages remaining after the employer has made the required legal deductions. Some of the legally required deductions include local, state and federal taxes. The federal limits for child support garnishments range from 50 to 60% of the debtors’ earnings. The amount the government can take for back taxes owed is determined by the number of dependents and the debtor’s deduction rate.