Protecting Wages of Essential Workers Act of 2022

To amend the Consumer Credit Protection Act to address restrictions on the garnishment of wages, prohibitions on debt collection practices relating to imprisonment of debtors, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting Wages of Essential Workers Act of 2022 2. Restriction on garnishment Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1671 et seq. (1) in section 303 ( 15 U.S.C. 1673 (A) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following: (a) (1) Except as provided in subsection (b) and in section 305, the maximum part of the aggregate disposable earnings of an individual for any workweek which is subjected to garnishment may not exceed the lesser of— (A) 25 per centum of the disposable earnings of the individual for that week; or (B) the amount by which the disposable earnings of the individual for that week exceed— (i) beginning on the date of enactment of this subsection, $1000; and (ii) for fiscal year 2023, and each fiscal year thereafter, the amount determined under paragraph (3). (2) In the case of earnings for any pay period other than a week, the Secretary of Labor shall, for purposes of paragraph (1)(B), prescribe an amount that is proportional to the amount under paragraph (1)(B)(i), which, beginning for fiscal year 2023, shall be adjusted in accordance with paragraph (3). (3) (A) On September 4, 2023, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall adjust the dollar amounts described in paragraphs (1)(B)(ii) and (2) by the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index, rounded to the nearest multiple of $100, as applicable. (B) Not later than Labor Day (as specified in section 6103 of title 5, United States Code) of each fiscal year, the Secretary of Labor shall publish in the Federal Register the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index published for June of the preceding fiscal year from June of the fiscal year in which that publication is made. (C) In this paragraph, the term Consumer Price Index ; and (B) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by striking his spouse or dependent child the spouse or dependent child of the individual (2) in section 304 ( 15 U.S.C. 1674 (a) No employer may discharge, or take any other adverse action against, any employee by reason of the fact that the earnings of the employee have been subjected to garnishment. ; (3) in section 305 ( 15 U.S.C. 1675 he determines the Secretary determines (4) in section 307 ( 15 U.S.C. 1677 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking State State— (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: (2) prohibiting the discharge, or the taking of any other adverse action against, any employee by reason of the fact that the earnings of the employee have been subjected to garnishment. . 3. Prohibition on debt collection practices relating to imprisonment of debtors Section 808 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1692f (9) Taking or threatening to take any action in connection with the collection of a debt to cause the arrest or imprisonment of any person, including taking or threatening to take any action to seek the issuance or service of a civil arrest warrant in State court. .

Summary: Protecting Wages of Essential Workers Act of 2022 This bill expands the federal restriction on the garnishment of wages to protect from any garnishment the first $1,000 of an individual's weekly disposable earnings.