Protecting Wages of Essential Workers Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.9224 | Sponsor: Rep. Adams, Alma S. (D-NC)
Policy area: Commerce

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.

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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Wages of Essential 
Workers Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. RESTRICTION ON GARNISHMENT.

    Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1671 et 
seq.) is amended--
            (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' means the 
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (all items, U.S. city 
average), published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by striking ``his 
                spouse or dependent child'' and inserting ``the spouse 
                or dependent child of the individual'';
            (2) in section 304 (15 U.S.C. 1674), by striking subsection 
        (a) and inserting the following:
    ``(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), by striking ``he 
        determines'' and inserting ``the Secretary determines''; and
            (4) in section 307 (15 U.S.C. 1677)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``State'' and inserting ``State--''; and
                    (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.''.

SEC. 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) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(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.''.
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