Wage garnishment usually occurs because of child support

Illinois residents might be surprised to learn that one in 14 workers in America are subject to wage garnishment. This data was gathered by the ADP Research Institute as part of a study released on Sept. 27.

The study used the anonymous pay data of 12 million U.S. workers from 2016. Four types of wage garnishment were looked at. These types are child support, bankruptcy, tax levies and other general garnishments that can occur. Child support was the most common type of wage garnishment. Seven percent of Americans have paychecks garnished, and three percent of these garnishments were because of child support.

Wage garnishment generally occurs due to a court order. An amount is then deducted from a worker’s salary with each paycheck until the obligation is met. Fees and interest might need to be satisfied as well before the garnishment ends. Those working for smaller companies were more likely to owe child support while those at larger companies typically had other obligations.

Men between 35-55 years of age accounted for 26 percent of those affected when working at large manufacturing jobs in the Midwest. These workers made an average of $44,000 each and had almost two wage garnishments. Largely because of child support, 71% of those who had their wages garnished were men.

While wage garnishment is not an ideal situation, child support payments could be necessary for custodial parents who may be limited in their employment options due to raising a child. When figuring out child custody, it is important to finalize any decisions made with the court. This allows either party to petition the court later if a problem occurs. This also protects the person making payments. As this person is fulfilling a child support obligation, he or she has the right to have contact with a child or children.