Garnishments and Salary Liens

(Universitywide Administrative Memorandum 440.9)

If you have your wages or other amounts due from the university seized by a court order of garnishment, the university is required by law to comply with the court order. Governmental liens resulting from claims for unpaid taxes, bankruptcy claims and child support orders must also be honored. When the university receives a court order for garnishment or a salary lien, it must pay the required amount directly to the clerk of the court or the governmental agency. Any defenses you may wish to make must be made to the court or governmental agency. As allowed by law, an administrative charge of $2.50 per paycheck will be assessed on child support garnishments.

Because a substantial amount of administrative time and expense is involved in processing wage garnishments and liens, the university has a concern whenever such an order is issued against an employee and served on the university. Grounds for dismissal will exist when two orders of garnishment, two salary liens or a combination of one of each type of seizure is processed against an employee in any 12-month period. Multiple garnishment orders resulting from the same debt or the same judgment will be treated as a single garnishment, and multiple assertions of salary liens arising out of the same bankruptcy order or the same debt for taxes due to the same governmental unit will be treated as a single salary lien.