Wage Garnishment Rights in Georgia

When you fall behind on credit card payments, your creditors can take you to court. This can lead to garnishment of your wages, a system where a portion of your debt is deducted from your pay every week. Wage garnishment rights in Georgia afford some protection to Georgians going through a wage garnishment process, however.

Statute of Limitations

To obtain a judgment or garnishment against you, your creditors must sue within a certain window. You can still be sued after the window closes; however, the statute of limitation provides you with an affirmative defense against your creditors. Credit card debt is known as an "open account" under Georgia law. Your creditors have four years to sue you for an open account. The clock begins running when you default, not when you stop making payments.

Limits

Georgia has no state law on the amount of your earnings that can be garnished by a creditor. However, a relevant federal law prohibits creditors from taking more than 25 percent of your earnings through garnishment. State law does limit the amount of interest that can accrue on a judgment. The cap on interest stands at 12 percent for judgments, the relevant type of debt for garnishment.

Employers and Garnishment

When your wages are garnished your employer may file a challenge against the garnishment. Employers have 45 days to file a challenge with the courts. Employers who flat out refuse to garnish wages may be liable for the full amount of the unpaid debt in question. Wage garnishment rights in Georgia include protections for garnished debtors in the workplace. Specifically, Georgia law prohibits an employer from terminating an employee on the basis of a garnishment order.

Stopping a Garnishment

Stopping a garnishment order once it has been enacted is often difficult. You are not without recourse, however. Paperwork that you receive with your garnishment order will tell you how to file an appeal. Hardship petitions may be filed with the court that issued your garnishment order. Bankruptcy will stop garnishments immediately, but is a last resort, due to the damage that bankruptcy does to your credit rating. Note that bankruptcy will not stop a garnishment order related to child support or taxes.