Delaware Statute on Wage Garnishment

Allowing a debt to become past due will typically result in the creditor seeking recovery through letters and telephone calls. However, if you do not make an effort to catch up your missed payments, most states permit creditors to execute garnishment of your wages to recover the debt balance. In Delaware, wage garnishment is governed by federal law and Delaware state law.

Judgment

Before most creditors can garnish your wages, they must obtain civil judgments against you by a Delaware court. However, debts involving unpaid child support or taxes do not require a judgment under federal law. A creditor obtains a judgment by filing a lawsuit against you, giving you an opportunity to contest the suit and petitioning the court for a judgment if you cannot provide a valid defense.

Delaware Wage Garnishment Exemption

After a private creditor has obtained a judgment against you for your debt, it may execute a wage garnishment order on your employer, forcing the employer to withhold a portion of your earnings to apply to your judgment debt. Delaware law provides a more generous exemption than federal law -- although federal law exempts 75 percent of your earnings, Delaware's 85 percent exemption applies to garnishments effectuated in this state.

Low-Wage Exemption

Federal law provides a complete exemption of your earnings from wage garnishment if you earn less than 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage each week. Delaware statutes do not specifically provide a similar exemption; however, because states must offer at least the same exemptions as federal law, this exemption applies to wage garnishments in Delaware.

Other Exemptions

Delaware Annotated Code Title 10, Section 4913 offers two additional exemptions not contemplated under federal law. Unlike other states, which allow distribution of garnished earnings among two or more judgment creditors, Delaware only permits one creditor to garnish your wages at a time. A second judgment creditor must wait until you have satisfied your first judgment debt before executing a garnishment order. Also, Delaware law exempts self-employment earnings from garnishment.