Your employer just told you there's a garnishment order. Don't panic - California law protects most of your earnings. Creditors can only take the lesser of 25% of your disposable wages or the amount exceeding 40 times minimum wage.
Under CCP 706.050, California limits wage garnishment to protect workers from losing too much of their income. The maximum amount that can be withheld is the lesser of:
California uses the state minimum wage ($16/hour as of 2024), which is higher than the federal minimum. This provides more protection than the federal garnishment limit.
Let's walk through an example. Assume California minimum wage is $16/hour:
Federal law uses federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour) for calculations. California uses state minimum wage ($16/hour). This means California workers keep significantly more of their paycheck than the federal floor would allow.
The garnishment percentage applies to "disposable earnings" - not your gross pay. Disposable earnings are what remains after legally required deductions:
You can't reduce your garnishment by increasing 401(k) contributions or adding voluntary deductions. Those amounts are still considered "disposable earnings" for garnishment purposes. Only legally required deductions reduce the base.
The 25% / 40x minimum wage limit applies to most judgments. However, certain debts have different rules:
If you have both a child support garnishment and a regular judgment garnishment, child support gets paid first. The regular creditor only gets paid from whatever remains under the overall limits. In many cases, this means the regular creditor gets nothing while support is being paid.
If your employer is withholding more than allowed, or if the garnishment creates severe hardship, you have options:
Verify your employer calculated disposable earnings correctly. Many errors occur in the calculation.
Use Form WG-006 to claim hardship exemption if garnishment prevents meeting basic needs.
If creditor opposes, you'll get a court hearing to prove your hardship situation.
Under CCP 706.050(b), an employer cannot fire you because of a single wage garnishment. However, protection for multiple garnishments is limited. If you have garnishments from multiple creditors, employment protection may not apply.
Until the judgment is paid in full, including interest (10% annually on California judgments). The garnishment continues automatically as long as you work for that employer. If you change jobs, the creditor must serve a new earnings withholding order on your new employer - but they usually do.
Only one regular earnings withholding order can be active at a time. If a second creditor serves an order, it goes in line behind the first. However, support orders and tax levies can stack on top of regular garnishments, potentially taking much more of your paycheck. The total cannot exceed 50% for consumer debts plus support.
File a Claim of Exemption (Form WG-006) with the sheriff's office. You'll need to document your income and expenses to show the garnishment creates hardship. The court can reduce or eliminate the garnishment if you prove you can't meet basic needs. Bring pay stubs, bills, and a detailed budget to the hearing.
The garnishment itself doesn't appear on credit reports. However, the underlying judgment does, and it damages your credit significantly. The judgment stays on your credit report for 7 years from the filing date. Paying off the judgment through garnishment will eventually show it as satisfied, which is slightly better than unpaid.
Wage garnishment only applies to traditional employment. If you're a 1099 independent contractor, the creditor can't garnish your payments directly. However, they can levy your bank account after you deposit the money. Self-employment income has less protection than traditional wages once it hits your bank account.
The earnings withholding order tells your employer a judgment creditor's name, the court case number, and the amount owed. It doesn't detail what the underlying debt was about (credit card, medical bill, lawsuit, etc.). Your employer is legally required to keep this information confidential within the company.
I help California workers challenge excessive garnishments and protect their income. If the garnishment is creating severe hardship, let's discuss your options.