Does Virginia Law Require That an Employer Notify an Employee of a Wage Garnishment?
- Virginia state law allows for a creditor who holds a judgment against a debtor to seize part of the debtor's wages by using a wage garnishment action on the debtor's employer. State law also permits administrative wage garnishments for debts regarding bankruptcy actions, taxes and child support or alimony payments, which do not involve a specific judgment. State law requires following legal procedures for a wage garnishment to be valid, including the serving of notice on the debtor-employee and the employer. Federal law gives the debtor-employee certain rights.
- The wage garnishment action can only be executed by the serving of a summons and order on the employer. The law requires that the summons conform with the format of the state statutes and contain certain information. The summons must clearly identify the employer, employee and creditor; the nature of the debt; and the total amount due under the garnishment. The summons can only address a single debt and creditor, and a single employee. The summons must be served to the employer by the local sheriff.
- In the case of a wage garnishment resulting from a creditor's judgment against the debtor, the local sheriff must promptly serve the debtor-employee with a copy of the summons after service on the employer. This can be legally done either by personal service on the debtor or by mailing it to the last known address of the debtor. It is also required that a notice of exemptions and rights to a hearing be included with the copy of the summons. In the case of an administrative wage garnishment, such as for child support, the law requires that the employer provide a copy of the garnishment order directly to the debtor-employee.
- Federal law provides the debtor-employee with certain rights regarding a wage garnishment. The main right is an automatic amount of wages exempt from garnishment. Generally, the exemption is 75 percent for judgment debts and 50 percent for support payments debts. Also, the federal law prohibits an employee from termination as a result of a wage garnishment. Virginia state law allows the employer to charge the employee a nominal fee for processing the garnishment payments. The employer must ensure that the employee receives his allowable wage exemptions.