Is Wage Garnishment Allowed in Oregon for a Judgment?
A wage garnishment is a legal action where a creditor seizes wages of a debtor directly from the debtor's employer. This type of action is allowed in Oregon for both private creditors, such as credit card companies or for debts from taxes or court orders. Oregon state law regulates wage garnishment procedures and sets certain restrictions.
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Wage Garnishment Action
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A private creditor, such as a bank or department store, must first sue the debtor in court and obtain a judgment against the debtor before being able to take any kind of garnishment action. Oregon state law permits such a creditor to enforce payment of a judgment by instituting a wage garnishment action on the debtor's employer. State law also permits wage garnishment through an administrative order for payment of child support or taxes, without a prior judgment.
Required Procedure
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After receiving the judgment against the debtor, the creditor will ask the court to issue a legal order called a Writ of Garnishment, which must be legally served of the debtor's employer. Such service can be by mail or in person. The writ must clearly identify the creditor, the debt, the employer and the debtor. It must also be attached to a response form, instructions and wage exemption calculation form for the employer's use. State law requires a copy of the writ to be legally served on the debtor promptly after service on the employer.
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Garnishment Restrictions
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Once the employer is properly served with a valid writ, he is legally compelled to start garnishing the debtor-employee's periodic wages. State law regulates the amounts that can be garnished. The maximum garnishment amount is 25 percent of the net wages, providing the debtor-employee is left with at least $218 per week after the garnishment deduction, as of 2011. This 25 percent maximum is the aggregate limit for all garnishment writs against the debtor-employee. The law prohibits the employer from firing the debtor-employee due to a wage garnishment action.
Other Provisions
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The employee-debtor has the right to challenge the writ for at least 30 days after being served. The employer can not stop taking the wage garnishment while the challenge is pending, but must send the money to the court instead of the creditor during that time. The employer is allowed to charge the debtor-employee a $2.00 per week administrative fee. The writ must be served within 60 days of its issuance to be valid. The judgment against the debtor is good for 10 years.
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