Section 3.5 Earnings

• Library: Creditors' Remedies (2009 Ed. + 2014 Supp)

2. (§3.5) Earnings

A judgment debtor's earnings are subject to garnishment as provided in § 525.030, RSMo 2000, subject, however, to the restrictions contained in that statute and in 15 U.S.C. § 1673. Section 525.030.2 defines earnings as "compensation paid or payable for personal services, whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, bonus, or otherwise, and includes periodic payments pursuant to a pension or retirement program." A similar definition is contained in 15 U.S.C. § 1672(a).

Section 525.030.2 limits the amount of an individual's earnings that are subject to garnishment. The maximum part of the aggregate earnings of any individual that may be garnished for any work week, after the deduction of any amounts required by law to be withheld, may not exceed the smallest of:

· 25%;

· the amount by which the individual's aggregate earnings for that week, after the deduction of any amounts required by law to be withheld, exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by 29 U.S.C. § 206 in effect at the time the earnings are payable; or

· 10% if the employee is the head of a family and a resident of Missouri.

For pay periods that are longer than one week, § 525.030.2 sets out a method to calculate the amount of earnings that may be subjected to garnishment. For purposes of the formula, a calendar month is considered to consist of 4 1/3 work weeks, and a semimonthly period is considered to consist of 2 1/6 weeks.

These statutory limitations do not apply to:

· orders of any court for the support of any person;

· orders of a bankruptcy court in a Chapter 13 proceeding; or

·

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