The wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) protect employees from discharge by their employers because their wages have been garnished for any one debt, and it limits the amount of an employee's earnings that may be garnished in any one week. CCPA also applies to all employers and individuals who receive earnings for personal services (including wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses and income from a pension or retirement program, but ordinarily not including tips).
The United States Department of Labor has revised Fact Sheet 30, The Federal Wage Garnishment Law, Consumer Credit Protection Act's Title III, available here. A major revision to the fact sheet includes a definition of "earnings".
The CCPA defines earnings as compensation for personal services, which includes:
- wages,
- salaries,
- commissions,
- bonuses, or
- other compensation-including periodic payments from a pension or retirement program, or payments from an employment-based disability payment program.
Earnings may include payments received in lump sums. For employees who receive tips, the cash wages amount or in excess of the wages paid directly by the employer (if no tip credit is claimed or allowed) are not earnings for purposes of the CCPA.
For additional information please visit the Federal Wage Garnishment section of the US DOL website here.