Creditors seeking payment for valid debts must comply with state and federal laws regarding debt collection practices. If regular phone calls and letters are not enough to pressure a debtor into financial compliance, then creditors may need to pursue more aggressive options.
A lawsuit against a debtor can result in a judgment, which a creditor can enforce by garnishing the debtor’s wages. Reviewing the current reported income of the debtor can help creditors determine if wage garnishment is a viable option.
There are minimum income requirements
If creditors could garnish a worker’s wages when they only make minimum wage and have bills to pay, people might end up homeless or unable to feed their children. As such, Florida state statutes impose minimum income requirements in wage garnishment situations.
If the debtor earns less than $750 weekly and is the head of a household, wage garnishment may not be possible. Typically, creditors can only garnish disposable earnings or any amount earned after reaching 30 times the federal minimum wage for the workweek, whichever is lesser.
Even then, creditors can typically only garnish up to 25% of the debtor’s disposable earnings. While it can be frustrating to only receive partial payments based on the debtor’s disposable income, the guaranteed payments received through wage garnishment are often much better than relying on voluntary compliance.
Discussing the debt and the debtor’s circumstances can help creditors explore all of their options. A successful wage garnishment can be one of the most effective ways to compel people to pay what they owe, especially if they have previously refused to prioritize the debt.