Can the State of Georgia Allow Credit Cards to Garnish Wages?

Under Georgia law, creditors can pursue civil lawsuits against residents who fail to pay their debts. If the creditor is successful in proving its case or if you fail to appear at the court hearing, a judgment will be entered against you. Once the judgment is in place, state law permits creditors to pursue additional collection remedies, including seizure of your bank account or garnishment of your wages.

Wage Garnishment Process

Once a creditor obtains a judgment against you, it must then file an order for continuing garnishment with the state court clerk's office in your county of residence. A copy of this order must then be served to your employer. Your employer has a 45-day period in which he may file an objection to the garnishment order. State law permits the creditor to seek an additional judgment against your employer for the full amount of the debt if the employer fails to respond to the garnishment order. Once the garnishment takes effect, your employer must begin withholding your wages. This money is then paid to the clerk of court, who is responsible for distributing it to your creditor's attorney.

What Can Be Garnished

Georgia law follows federal guidelines for determining garnishment amounts. As of 2011, a creditor can garnish a maximum of 25 percent of your disposable earnings each pay period, or the amount by which your disposable income exceeds 30 times the federal minimum wage. The creditor must use the calculation that produces the lower garnishment amount. If your wages are currently being garnished to fulfill a domestic support obligation and the garnishment exceeds 25 percent of your disposable wages, no additional garnishment is permitted. Additionally, no garnishment is allowed if your weekly disposable earnings do not exceed the federal minimum wage based on a 40-hour work week.

Rights of Debtors

If you've been served with a notice of a pending garnishment, you have the right to appeal the order or claim some or all of your income as exempt. You must respond to the garnishment order within 45 days of receiving it. Federal law permits you to claim an exemption for Social Security or Supplemental Security Income benefits, veterans' benefits, military survivors' benefits, student assistance, federal retirement or disability benefits or railroad workers' benefits. Georgia law also allows you to exempt income received from a state pension or individual retirement account, worker's compensation benefits, unemployment compensation payments or any domestic support payments you receive.

Considerations

Georgia law prohibits employers from terminating an employee on the basis of a single garnishment order. However, if your employer receives multiple garnishment orders from different creditors, this protection no longer applies. State law also allows your creditor to seek a levy of your bank accounts or a lien against your property in conjunction with a wage garnishment. Under the statute of limitations, creditors have up to four years from the last date of payment to seek a judgment for unpaid credit card debt. Once the judgment is granted, the creditor then has an additional seven years to enforce it.