Can I Be Fired for a Wage Garnishment?

I recently wrote a post on the woes of wage garnishment – a procedure that creditors can use to collect debts from you against your will. If you’re facing wage garnishment, be sure to read this post:

My Wages are Being Garnished!

One aspect I didn’t touch on, though, is how wage garnishment affects your job security. Johndra from Church Falls, VA, called me on my gaffe:

My employer received a garnishment order today. Can my boss fire me for this?

Admittedly, I had to do a bit of research on this. Although I spent a year in law school, I’m not a lawyer. However, I gained some valuable research skills during my stint in law school, and here is what I found:

Under federal law, your employer cannot fire you for a single wage garnishment. However, if your employer receives more than one wage garnishment in a 12-month period, the employer can fire you.

Here’s how that pans out in non-legal terms:

Say a creditor sues you, obtains a judgment, and executes a wage garnishment. Your job is safe, although your income will be reduced by up to 25%. It sucks monkey farts, but at least you still have a job. But say another creditor decides to sue you and garnish your wages… in that case, your employer can decide you’re not worth the hassle, and can legally fire you.

Make sense?

Obviously, avoiding wage garnishment in the first place is the best solution. If you can’t do that, though, you should seriously consider the potential of another creditor to garnish your earnings. If that’s a distinct possibility, it might be time to contact an attorney to evaluate your options.