If you are a Maryland resident with unpaid debt, and your creditor believes that you will not pay your delinquent debt voluntarily, its collection agency may file a lawsuit against you in a Maryland civil court to obtain a judgment for the debt. After a collector receives a legal judgment, it may use several strategies to collect from you, including garnishment of your wages.
Garnishment Order
After securing a judgment for a debt, the collector may file a Request for Garnishment of Wages with the court that issued the judgment. The collector must know the name and address of your employer as well as the total outstanding amount of the debt, including any interest and legal costs awarded by the court. A sheriff, constable or other adult who is not a party to the judgment may then serve the employer with a court order for the garnishment, or the court may send the order by certified mail.
Employer Response
When your employer receives a garnishment order, it must respond within 30 days by verifying that you are employed, disclosing your pay rate and noting any other garnishments on your wages. The employer must then determine the allowable amount of garnishable wages and withhold these funds from each paycheck, then send the funds to the collector within 15 days of the end of your last pay period for the month.
Maximum Garnishment
Maryland law mirrors federal law regarding limitations on wage garnishment. If you earn less than 30 times the federal minimum wage per week, your earnings are protected from garnishment. If you earn more than this amount each week, your creditor can take a maximum of 25 percent of your disposable income, which is your gross earnings minus taxes. However, unpaid child support or taxes can result in garnishment of 50 percent or more of your disposable income.
Statute of Limitations
After a court has executed a garnishment order in Maryland, the collector can typically continue garnishing your wages until the judgment debt is paid in full or until 90 days after you separate from your employer. The 90-day requirement allows the collector to take a portion of any money due to you from your employer after you stop working. However, Maryland imposes a statute of limitations of 12 years; if the collector does not apply for judgment renewal, it must stop garnishing your wages after the 12-year period has expired.
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