A wage garnishment occurs when an employer withholds the earnings of an individual for the payment of a debt as the result of a court order or other equitable procedure. Before your wages can be garnished, your creditor, in this case the city or parking authority, must first sue you for the unpaid amount, and obtain a court judgment against you, before your wages can be garnished. (If you were not aware that a court judgment had been ordered against you, you should consult with an attorney immediately to determine whether that judgment against you is legally binding.)
Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) limits the amount of an employee's earnings that may be garnished in any one week. The employer can charge a minimal fee for administration costs relating to the garnishment. Title III protects employees by limiting the amount of earnings that may be garnished in any workweek or pay period to the lesser of:
twenty-five percent of disposable earnings
or the amount by which disposable earnings are greater than 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage (currently $7.25 per hour)
Disposable earnings refers to the amount of earnings left after legally required deductions (e.g., federal, state and local taxes, Social Security, unemployment insurance and state employee retirement systems) have been made. Deductions not required by law (e.g., union dues, health and life insurance, and charitable contributions) are not subtracted from gross earnings when the amount of disposable earnings for garnishment purposes is calculated.
For example, if you make $1000 per week, and have 40% of that amount withheld for legally required deductions, then your disposable earnings are $600 per week. Of that, $150 (25% of disposable earnings) can be garnished, as it is lower than the alternative amount which can be deducted (30 times $7.25 equals $217.50, which when subtracted from $600, leaves $382.50 subject to withholding but this amount is greater than the $150 from the alternative calculation.)
Title III specifies that garnishment restrictions do not apply to bankruptcy court orders and debts due for federal and state taxes. Some states have their own laws on wage garnishment. If a state wage garnishment law differs from Title III, the employer must observe the law resulting in the smaller garnishment. Title III also prohibits employers from discharging an employee because their earnings have been subject to garnishment for more than one debt.
If you still have questions about your state's laws relating to wage garnishment, then you may wish to contact the agency in your state which handles wage and hour/labor standards violations, listed on our site's state government agencies page, or an attorney familiar with this area of the law.