§ 582.402 Maximum garnishment limitations. Pursuant to section 1673(a)(1) of title 15 of the United States Code (the Consumer Credit Protection Act, as amended) and the Department of Labor regulations to title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, part 870, the following limitations are applicable: ( a ) Unless a lower maximum limitation is provided by applicable State or local law, the maximum part of an employee-obligor's aggregate disposable earnings subject to garnishment to enforce any legal debt other than an order for child support or alimony, including any amounts withheld to offset administrative costs as provided for in § 582.305(k), shall not exceed 25 percent of the employee-obligor's aggregate disposable earnings for any workweek. As appropriate, State or local law should be construed as providing a lower maximum limitation where legal process may only be processed on a one at a time basis. Where an agency is garnishing 25 percent or more of an employee-obligor's aggregate disposable earnings for any workweek in compliance with legal process to which an agency is subject under sections 459, 461, and 462 of the Social Security Act, no additional amount may be garnished in compliance with legal process under this part. Furthermore, the following dollar limitations, which are contained in title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 870, must be applied in determining the garnishable amount of the employee's aggregate disposable earnings: ( 1 ) If the employee-obligor's aggregate disposable earnings for the workweek are in excess of 40 times the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) minimum hourly wage, 25 percent of the employee-obligor's aggregate disposable earnings may be garnished. For example, effective September 1, 1997, when the FLSA minimum wage rate is $5.15 per hour, this rate multiplied by 40 equals $206.00 and thus, if an employee-obligor's disposable earnings are in excess of $206.00 for a workweek, 25 percent of the employee-obligor's disposable earnings are subject to garnishment.
( 2 ) If the employee-obligor's aggregate disposable earnings for a workweek are less than 40 times the FLSA minimum hourly wage, garnishment may not exceed the amount by which the employee-obligor's aggregate disposable earnings exceed 30 times the current minimum wage rate. For example, at an FLSA minimum wage rate of $5.15 per hour, the amount of aggregate disposable earnings which may not be garnished is $154.50 [$5.15 × 30]. Only the amount above $154.50 is garnishable.
( 3 ) If the employee-obligor's aggregate disposable earnings in a workweek are equal to or less than 30 times the FLSA minimum hourly wage, the employee-obligator's earnings may not be garnished in any amount.
( b ) There is no limit on the percentage of an employee-obligor's aggregate disposable earnings that may be garnished for a Federal, State or local tax obligation or in compliance with an order of any court of the United States having jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases under Chapter 13 of title 11 of the United States Code. Orders from courts having jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases under Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 of the United States Code are subject to the maximum garnishment restrictions in § 582.402(a).
[60 FR 13030, Mar. 10, 1995, as amended at 63 FR 14788, Mar. 26, 1998]