THESE COMPUTATION INSTRUCTIONS APPLY UNDER NORMAL
CIRCUMSTANCES. THEY DO NOT APPLY TO ORDERS FOR THE
SUPPORT OF A SPOUSE, FORMER SPOUSE, OR CHILD.
California law provides how much earnings to withhold, if any, for different
amounts of disposable earnings and different pay periods, and takes into
consideration different minimum wage amounts. The method of calculation
is at Code of Civil Procedure section 706.050 and is described in the
column to the right. You may also look on the California Courts Self-Help
website for assistance in determining the maximum withholding amounts
for different amounts of disposable income, for different pay periods, and
with different minimum wage amounts. The information is at
www.courts.ca.gov/self-help-employerwagecivil.htm.
Page 2 of 2
EARNINGS WITHHOLDING ORDER
(Wage Garnishment)
WG-002 [Rev. July 1, 2016]
The Federal Wage Garnishment Law and federal rules provide the basic
protections on which the California law is based. Inquiries about the
federal law will be answered by mail, telephone, or personal interview at
any office of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.
Offices are listed in the telephone directory under the U.S. Department of
Labor in the U.S. Government listing.
The garnishment law is contained in the Code of Civil Procedure
beginning with section 706.010. Sections 706.022, 706.025, 706.050, and
706.104 explain the employer's duties.
WHAT IF YOU STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?
Be sure to mark each check with the case number, the levying officer's file
number, if different, and the employee's name so the money will be
applied to the correct account.
Occasionally, the employee's earnings will also be subject to a Wage
and Earnings Assignment Order, an order available from family law
courts for child, spousal, or family support. The amount required to be
withheld for that order should be deducted from the amount to be
withheld for this order.
The amounts withheld during the withholding period must be paid to the
levying officer by the 15th of the next month after each payday. If you wish
to pay more frequently than monthly, each payment must be made within
10 days after the close of the pay period.
WHAT TO DO WITH THE MONEY
(B) After the employee's disposable earnings are known, to determine
what amount should be withheld, you may look to the statute, follow the
directions below in (C), or seek assistance on the California Courts Self-
Help website at www.courts.ca.gov/self-help-employerwagecivil.htm.
Note that you also need to know the amount of the minimum wage in the
location where the employee works.
If the employee stops working for you, the Earnings Withholding Order
ends after no amounts are withheld for a continuous 180-day period. If
withholding ends because the earnings are subject to an order of higher
priority, the Earnings Withholding Order ends after a continuous two-year
period during which no amounts are withheld under the order. Return the
Earnings Withholding Order to the levying officer with a statement of
the reason it is being returned.
The Employer's Return (form WG-005) describes several situations that
could affect the withholding period for this order. If you receive more than
one Earnings Withholding Order during a withholding period, review that
form (Employer's Return) for instructions.
Disposable earnings are the earnings left after subtracting the part of the
earnings a state or federal law requires an employer to withhold. Generally
these required deductions are (1) federal income tax, (2) federal social
security, (3) state income tax, (4) state disability insurance, and
(5) payments to public employee retirement systems. Disposable earnings
will change when the required deductions change.
You are entitled to rely on and must obey all written notices signed by the
levying officer.
Earnings include any money (whether called wages, salary,
commissions, bonuses, or anything else) that is paid by an employer to an
employee for personal services. Vacation or sick pay is subject to
withholding as it is received by the employee. Tips are generally not
included as earnings because they are not paid by the employer.
It may end sooner if (1) you receive a written notice signed by the
levying officer specifying an earlier termination date, or (2) an order of
higher priority (explained on the reverse of the Employer's Return (form
WG-005) is received.
(A) To determine the CORRECT AMOUNT OF EARNINGS TO BE WITH-
HELD (if any), first compute the employee's disposable earnings.
The withholding period is the period covered by the Earnings With-
holding Order (this order). The withholding period begins 10 calendar days
after you receive the order and continues until the total amount due, plus
additional amounts for costs and interest (which will be listed in a levying
officer's notice), is withheld.
State law limits the amount of earnings that can be withheld. The
limitations are based on the employee's disposable earnings, which are
different from gross pay or take-home pay.
Your other duties are TO WITHHOLD THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF
EARNINGS (if any) and PAY IT TO THE LEVYING OFFICER during the
withholding period.
COMPUTATION INSTRUCTIONS
The instructions in paragraph 1 on the reverse of this form describe your
early duties to provide information to your employee and the levying
officer.
WG-002
INSTRUCTIONS TO EMPLOYER ON
EARNINGS WITHHOLDING ORDERS
(C) Calculate the maximum amount that may be withheld from the
employee's disposable earnings, which is the lesser of the following two
amounts:
• 25 percent of disposable earnings for that week; or
• 50 percent of the amount by which the employee's disposable
earnings that week exceed the applicable minimum wage. If there is a
local minimum wage in effect in the location where the employee works
that exceeds the state minimum wage at the time the earnings are
payable, the local minimum wage is the applicable minimum wage.
To calculate the correct amount, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Determine the applicable minimum wage per pay period.
• For a daily or weekly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly
minimum wage by 40.
• For a biweekly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly minimum
wage by 80.
• For a semimonthly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly
minimum wage by 86 2/3.
• For a monthly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly minimum
wage by 173 1/3.
Step 2: Subtract the amount from Step 1 from the employee's disposable
earnings during that pay period.
Step 3: If the amount from Step 2 is less than zero, do not withhold any
money from the employee's earnings.
Step 4: If the amount from Step 2 is greater than zero, multiply that
amount by one-half.
Step 5: If the amount from Step 4 is lower than 25 percent of the
employee's disposable earnings, withhold this amount. If it is greater than
25 percent of the employee's disposable earnings, withhold 25 percent of
the disposable earnings.
IF YOU VIOLATE ANY OF THESE LAWS YOU MAY BE HELD LIABLE TO PAY CIVIL DAMAGES AND YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL
PROSECUTION!
IT IS ILLEGAL NOT TO PAY AMOUNTS WITHHELD FOR THE EARNINGS WITHHOLDING ORDER TO THE LEVYING OFFICER. Your duty is
to pay the money to the levying officer who will pay the money in accordance with the law that applies to this case.
IT IS ILLEGAL TO AVOID AN EARNINGS WITHHOLDING ORDER BY POSTPONING OR ADVANCING THE PAYMENT OF EARNINGS. The
employee's pay period must not be changed to prevent the order from taking effect.
2.
IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO FIRE THE EMPLOYEE BECAUSE OF EARNINGS WITHHOLDING ORDERS FOR THE PAYMENT OF ONLY ONE
INDEBTEDNESS. No matter how many orders you receive, so long as they all relate to a single indebtedness (no matter how many debts are
represented in that judgment), the employee may not be fired.
1.
IMPORTANT WARNINGS
3.